library changes
ignoring the fact that i may have to work this weekend, i am not sure i like some of the changes they recently made at the local branch of my county library.
i put books on hold all the time. rarely do i actually go to the library and browse. i use the online catalog, search for what i want to read, put it on my hold list, and when i get to the top of the list, i get an email saying i have 5 days to go pick it up. then i go to the front desk, hand them my library card and they look up what book(s) i have on hold and get it for me from behind the desk and then proceed to check the book out for me.
i went in earlier this week to pick up some books and apparently, they changed how holds work. now there are all these shelves set up where you can go and find the first letter of your last name, and find the book you had on hold yourself, and even then use the self-checkout to check it out yourself.
now...i have no problems with the self-checkout machines. but...i do have a problem with this find my own on-hold book. because what if the book i had on hold is really popular and someone else wants it? nothing is stopping any random person from checking out the book that i put on hold before i get there to pick it up myself. plus...the little letters that stick out from the shelves to mark last names are just held in place by being inserted between two books. so when someone goes to take a book from that section, the letter falls on the ground and now the library is relying on the patrons to not be assholes and make sure they push the books back together to make it stay again. i tend to think the best of individuals, but as a whole, people can be real jerks. and i just see this as making it really hard for people to find their books because the letter markers have a good chance of not being where they should be.
i put books on hold all the time. rarely do i actually go to the library and browse. i use the online catalog, search for what i want to read, put it on my hold list, and when i get to the top of the list, i get an email saying i have 5 days to go pick it up. then i go to the front desk, hand them my library card and they look up what book(s) i have on hold and get it for me from behind the desk and then proceed to check the book out for me.
i went in earlier this week to pick up some books and apparently, they changed how holds work. now there are all these shelves set up where you can go and find the first letter of your last name, and find the book you had on hold yourself, and even then use the self-checkout to check it out yourself.
now...i have no problems with the self-checkout machines. but...i do have a problem with this find my own on-hold book. because what if the book i had on hold is really popular and someone else wants it? nothing is stopping any random person from checking out the book that i put on hold before i get there to pick it up myself. plus...the little letters that stick out from the shelves to mark last names are just held in place by being inserted between two books. so when someone goes to take a book from that section, the letter falls on the ground and now the library is relying on the patrons to not be assholes and make sure they push the books back together to make it stay again. i tend to think the best of individuals, but as a whole, people can be real jerks. and i just see this as making it really hard for people to find their books because the letter markers have a good chance of not being where they should be.