Dear Mr. I-Taught-English-I-Know-What-I'm-Talking-About:
I looked it up. "Staff" is typically (though, I'll grant you this, not always) a singular, uncountable noun. Which mean our use of library staff is not allowed . . . is perfectly acceptable grammar.
I'm going to have to deny your application for joining the grammar police (as you put it "The world needs grammar police") as I was able to figure this out A) by reading the sentence and B) googling for about 30 seconds to verify what I remembered.
In conclusion, our signs don't need to be changed, we're clearly literate, and you're probably the only one who's ever read the damn sign anyway.
Ever so much love,
Your Reference Desk Jockey of the Day
PS: I've got a BA in English & Classics. I think I can handle proof reading our signs.
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I just wish I'd been able to snap this back at him before he huffed off with his grammatically correct printouts . . . . oh well.
I looked it up. "Staff" is typically (though, I'll grant you this, not always) a singular, uncountable noun. Which mean our use of library staff is not allowed . . . is perfectly acceptable grammar.
I'm going to have to deny your application for joining the grammar police (as you put it "The world needs grammar police") as I was able to figure this out A) by reading the sentence and B) googling for about 30 seconds to verify what I remembered.
In conclusion, our signs don't need to be changed, we're clearly literate, and you're probably the only one who's ever read the damn sign anyway.
Ever so much love,
Your Reference Desk Jockey of the Day
PS: I've got a BA in English & Classics. I think I can handle proof reading our signs.
----
I just wish I'd been able to snap this back at him before he huffed off with his grammatically correct printouts . . . . oh well.
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