Currently reading: "This One Is Mine" by Maria Semple
We are keeping track here today of how many times we tell people to go up to the front desk to do something. The circulation desk and the reference desk have two very different functions. I wish we could design some sort of handout explaining what you can get from each desk. Fax machine? Front desk. Microfilm reader? Reference desk. Check out books? Front desk. Put things on hold? Reference desk. So far, we have told 7 people to go to the front desk. It's nice to just be like front desk and then not have to deal with a person anymore.
Also, a woman came in looking for ASVAB books, which are books about studying to get ready for the military entrance exams (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), but she called them HAZMAT books. The army is sort of full of hazardous materials, so I can see the confusion. They require a $20 deposit to be checked out, like our GED books. We were "losing" (read as: people stealing) about 25 of those books a year, so we now say you have to leave us $20. You'd be surprised how many people this DOESN'T deter from stealing them, I mean, losing them, anyway. At least we are covered, I suppose.
My mom says this blog seems to be full of hostility. Well, I can't be held accountable for people who do silly things! I don't mean to be hostile; I just am, I guess.
Wait! Best lost and found request ever: hair extension.
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I can't imagine the strange questions you are asked every day at work. Strangest insurance claim I ever had? Lost dentures because he took them out in a phonebooth to make a call. He left without them and they were stolen. And yes, he did have coverage because at that time there was a special endorsement he purchased for his dentures. euuuW!
ReplyDeleteHaving a handout wouldn't do you any good - that starts with the assumption that people would read them. Despite being an institution full of print material, people show an amazing resistance to READING.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're hostile - let your mom work the reference desk for a mere hour and see how she feels afterwards!!!
Hold on, we keep the HAZMAT books in the back in plastic bags.
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