Like, TOTALLY, you know?
Some things about my job never cease to amaze me. Well, one big thing, that gets broken down into various versions. That big thing is how CLUELESS some patrons are!
Examples just from today:
1) The woman who asked if she needed to buy the book in order to come to our book discussion. Um, no. This is a library. We don't sell books. (One exception to this is that the Friends of the Library volunteer group sells items we've discarded from our collection as a money-making scheme. But really, no. For all intents and purposes, we don't sell books.)
2) The woman who asked if we sell cleaning cloths for CDs. Um, no. This is a library. We don't sell anything, period. Try an electronics store, or freakin' Walmart.
3) The man who handed me a piece of paper with a number on it and told me he couldn't find the book. Problem? He had an ISBN (International Standard Book Number, used by the publishing industry), NOT a Dewey Decimal Call Number (used by most public libraries as a sort of "shelf address" for the book.) And then just could not understand the difference.
4) The man who apparently never learned his ABCs, because when looking for an author whose name starts with K, he was utterly stymied by the shelf-end sign reading IB--LA. Um, last time I checked, K did indeed come between I and L. Shall I go get a kindergartener from the Youth department to confirm that for ya??
5) The man who, while I sat at my desk, right in front of the Fiction section, under a big blue sign reading "Readers Advisor," asked me if I know things about books and could I help him. No. No, actually, I'm an illiterate. They just prop me up out front because I have nice tits.
6) The woman who just asked for the last book in the "Women's Motor Club" series by Peterson. When I politely asked, "Do you mean "The Women's MURDER Club" series by PATTERSON?" she snapped, "YES" in a "Well, DUH, you stupid cow!" tone of voice.
7) The man who was utterly incapable of finding the Biography section despite being told that it was the last shelf in the corner of the room and all of the books have a B on the spine label. Seriously. Not hard to find, people. Last shelf in the corner. If you run into the window, you've gone too far.
Examples just from today:
1) The woman who asked if she needed to buy the book in order to come to our book discussion. Um, no. This is a library. We don't sell books. (One exception to this is that the Friends of the Library volunteer group sells items we've discarded from our collection as a money-making scheme. But really, no. For all intents and purposes, we don't sell books.)
2) The woman who asked if we sell cleaning cloths for CDs. Um, no. This is a library. We don't sell anything, period. Try an electronics store, or freakin' Walmart.
3) The man who handed me a piece of paper with a number on it and told me he couldn't find the book. Problem? He had an ISBN (International Standard Book Number, used by the publishing industry), NOT a Dewey Decimal Call Number (used by most public libraries as a sort of "shelf address" for the book.) And then just could not understand the difference.
4) The man who apparently never learned his ABCs, because when looking for an author whose name starts with K, he was utterly stymied by the shelf-end sign reading IB--LA. Um, last time I checked, K did indeed come between I and L. Shall I go get a kindergartener from the Youth department to confirm that for ya??
5) The man who, while I sat at my desk, right in front of the Fiction section, under a big blue sign reading "Readers Advisor," asked me if I know things about books and could I help him. No. No, actually, I'm an illiterate. They just prop me up out front because I have nice tits.
6) The woman who just asked for the last book in the "Women's Motor Club" series by Peterson. When I politely asked, "Do you mean "The Women's MURDER Club" series by PATTERSON?" she snapped, "YES" in a "Well, DUH, you stupid cow!" tone of voice.
7) The man who was utterly incapable of finding the Biography section despite being told that it was the last shelf in the corner of the room and all of the books have a B on the spine label. Seriously. Not hard to find, people. Last shelf in the corner. If you run into the window, you've gone too far.