Librarians Gone Wild

With my job in budget jeopardy, I decided to use my AL while I can and I took a trip to Las Vegas.
Needless to say I had a great time.
I wonder if/when there will ever be an annual ALA conference held there. I would be there in a heartbeat.

This Week's Winner...

Nothing too much. Maybe I've just gotten used to seeing overdue fees around $100 to $300.

Round 2

Compared to last year, it seems like the library system is going to fight the upcoming budget cuts with all it has.  The library makes up the smallest portion of the County budget, yet they're making the biggest cuts from it.  That doesn't sound right any way you spin it.

The library system as a whole sucked it up last year when they cut numerous positions and laid off half of the pages.  Now they want to cut more.  I will be the first to admit that it was long overdue to fire some of the pages.  We are now more efficient, the books are still getting shelved and the lazies are no longer around.  But the system is already running lean with the amount of people on staff.  I will also say that I know a couple of people that should "retire."  Whether its due to their age, health, or laziness, they should NOT be on the library payroll. 

My days at the library seem to be numbered.

I Love My Coworkers...

They're all unique and fun to work with.
One of them is new to the area from Iraq. She worked in the Green Zone in Baghdad for 2 years before coming to the States. I found this out while we were both avoiding working the circ desk the first hour of opening. All the problem patrons seem to pop up then.
It was our first time actually getting to know each other. When I asked her what she wanted to do here, she just laughed and said it was "silly." After a little bit more of playful prodding, she said she wanted to be an actress, but her family told her it was stupid. I told her she should go for it, she just blushed and said, "you don't think its stupid?" I told her this is the States, you can do whatever you want, be whoever you want to be. Hate to resound on that cliche, but it is true. Hope she just doesn't become "Hollywood" and forget who I am when she becomes famous.

Lunch Break Libations

Its my last Saturday at this branch and I have a 12 pack in the trunk.
I found out last night that I play Modern Warfare 2 better when I'm drunk. I wonder if I'm better at the Circ desk tipsy.

Firedrill Fail

I have worked at a total of 7 different branches and have been fortunate enough to NOT be scheduled during any of their routine firedrills.

Well, my luck ran out last week as I experienced my first one and it was pretty uneventful.

It was supposed to be a surprise as to catch everyone off guard and see how prepared they all really are. But that element was thrown out the window when the assistant branch manager had the check list clipboard in her hand and waited for 5 minutes at the circ desk for a lull in people checking out before she pulled the alarm.

It sure scared one patron, he happened to be on his cell phone when it went off and he literally ran out the exit, if there were any children or elderly in front of him, I have no doubt he would have knocked them out of the way during this practice emergency.

While most patrons were leaving reluctantly, one lady decided to check out her materials before the imaginary fire consumed her. Talk about fail, I told her to exit and she gave me the nastiest look. At least it was a nice day outside...

Punk Ass Book Jockeys

I LOVE NBC's Thursday night line up.  How can you not, with "Parks and Recreation," "The Community," "The Office," and "30 Rock," all in one night.

I missed watching last Thursday because I was watching a German opera (not as exciting as it sounds.)

But I Hulu'd all of the shows and I laughed so hard during "Parks and Recreation" s02e08.

They bash the library, what's not to like about that!?

Trick-ed and mis-Treated

I knew it was a bad sign 2 weeks ago when one of the circ managers pulled up a chair next to me while I was working the phones.  The first thing she said was, "Have you heard already?"  To be honest, I didn't really hear directly that my stay was being extended another pay period, but I already heard that they told the other circ aide about her extended stay.

Just as I was counting down the days to my return to my regular branch, they screw up my calender.  I can only suck it up, at least it's not as bad as what they did to a third circ aide they "borrowed."  Her two pay period stay turned into a THREE month stay.  Whenever I was working the circ desk with her, she would regularly vent to me about how they really did need to borrow staff from other branches.  I did agree with her to some extent, the managers could have better scheduled the staff they have, until the new hires come in.

Now, I have a new variation to the phrase "Same ish, different day,"

"Same ish, different branch"

Why Is It...

That I feel guilty about calling in sick today when I actually AM sick, but not when I called in and when I wasn't sick?

This is Why You're a Librarian...

And not a marketer. This is such a horrible rip off. It looks and sounds even more ridiculous when you read it out loud. The "Got Milk?" campaign worked so well because of its simplicity, its ONE syllable, not four. For shame library, for shame. Thank goodness I have a Marketing degree, I plan to walk around the branch with a Sharpee and add "^your" to all the signage.