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I was by myself on the third floor; usually there are 2 of us. Third floor is reference (and also the 800's, 900's, biographies and newpapers/magazines)
first thing, the guy who came up to me wasn't sucky but this involved the handiabled cw who retrieves material from storage. Anyway, the guy had called ahead of time asking for 1946 Look magazine, but he was brought 1946 Life magazine. Ok, I'll send up for the right one. He was also looking at microfilm of one of the newspapers, so he had things to do while he waits.
About 15 min. into the hour a woman comes up asking for forms for divorce. We have a book called How to do your own divorce in Texas which is popular. I tell her we have a book with the forms. I show her the book and tell her that the copier on this floor isn't working, but the one on the 4th floor is working. Of course, the copiers work when they want to work and at this point the copier was working. She goes to the copier on our floor but sees someone's using it and she looks put out. I tell her that she should first look through the book and find the pages she wants to copy first. I also tell her she can check out a copy if she likes. She says she would have to make copies anyway if she checks it out, right? I tell her yes. She says she doesn't need to check it out then.
I should have told her the copy in her hand was reference, not a copy to be checked out. But I figure since she said she wasn't going to check out a copy, I didn't need to let her know the copies that can be checked out would be on the 2nd floor.
Before my hour was up a supervisor from Circulation (dept. that checks out materials) called. At the time I didn't think anything about it since Circ. supervisors work the check-out desk too. She asked if I told a patron she can check out a reference book on How to do your own divorce in Texas. I explained that I told the patron she can check out a copy, but I didn't tell her she could check out the reference copy.
I finally see that the request for Look 1946 has a reply. "We have Look till 1953". What the hell that mean? I tried to call storage but no answer. I decide to go up (storage is on the 5th floor) and see if we have it. I do see the person who sent the reply to the request was our special snowflake who never can get her ass fired (even though she forgot her meds one day and started to hit a male cw) because the Library management is afraid of the EEOC. She is pretty useless. She can never find things (ok, she has about a 60% success rate on finding things) and she is always confused.
I go to the elevator, waiting a long time for the "up". The elevator comes up and off steps off the woman who wanted to make copies of How to do your own divorce in Texas and a cw. I wondered why she came to the 3rd floor when she would have to go to second for the copy that she can check out. She is telling my cw:
sc: I was told I could check out this copy!
I get off the elevator
me: Ma'm I told you you can check out a copy.
sc: No you didn't! you told me I could check this out! /to my cw/ where can I leave this?
cw: we can just leave it here.
So I miss the elevator going up and have to wait for it.
Latter I ask my cw about why she didn't go to the 2nd floor (I figured either the Circ. super would have told her to go to the second, or else, when she roped in my cw from the first floor he would have taken her to the right floor), and he said he didn't know, it seems she wanted to go to the 3rd floor. Also, she asked for legal aid info. and he printed out some things for her (for free) and she left happy.
Anyway, I get to the storage floor and after looking a long time for Look, I find we have it from 1953 to 1976. I go downstairs to tell the guy.
I do think that woman (the customer) must have a problem about communication.
first thing, the guy who came up to me wasn't sucky but this involved the handiabled cw who retrieves material from storage. Anyway, the guy had called ahead of time asking for 1946 Look magazine, but he was brought 1946 Life magazine. Ok, I'll send up for the right one. He was also looking at microfilm of one of the newspapers, so he had things to do while he waits.
About 15 min. into the hour a woman comes up asking for forms for divorce. We have a book called How to do your own divorce in Texas which is popular. I tell her we have a book with the forms. I show her the book and tell her that the copier on this floor isn't working, but the one on the 4th floor is working. Of course, the copiers work when they want to work and at this point the copier was working. She goes to the copier on our floor but sees someone's using it and she looks put out. I tell her that she should first look through the book and find the pages she wants to copy first. I also tell her she can check out a copy if she likes. She says she would have to make copies anyway if she checks it out, right? I tell her yes. She says she doesn't need to check it out then.
I should have told her the copy in her hand was reference, not a copy to be checked out. But I figure since she said she wasn't going to check out a copy, I didn't need to let her know the copies that can be checked out would be on the 2nd floor.
Before my hour was up a supervisor from Circulation (dept. that checks out materials) called. At the time I didn't think anything about it since Circ. supervisors work the check-out desk too. She asked if I told a patron she can check out a reference book on How to do your own divorce in Texas. I explained that I told the patron she can check out a copy, but I didn't tell her she could check out the reference copy.
I finally see that the request for Look 1946 has a reply. "We have Look till 1953". What the hell that mean? I tried to call storage but no answer. I decide to go up (storage is on the 5th floor) and see if we have it. I do see the person who sent the reply to the request was our special snowflake who never can get her ass fired (even though she forgot her meds one day and started to hit a male cw) because the Library management is afraid of the EEOC. She is pretty useless. She can never find things (ok, she has about a 60% success rate on finding things) and she is always confused.
I go to the elevator, waiting a long time for the "up". The elevator comes up and off steps off the woman who wanted to make copies of How to do your own divorce in Texas and a cw. I wondered why she came to the 3rd floor when she would have to go to second for the copy that she can check out. She is telling my cw:
sc: I was told I could check out this copy!
I get off the elevator
me: Ma'm I told you you can check out a copy.
sc: No you didn't! you told me I could check this out! /to my cw/ where can I leave this?
cw: we can just leave it here.
So I miss the elevator going up and have to wait for it.
Latter I ask my cw about why she didn't go to the 2nd floor (I figured either the Circ. super would have told her to go to the second, or else, when she roped in my cw from the first floor he would have taken her to the right floor), and he said he didn't know, it seems she wanted to go to the 3rd floor. Also, she asked for legal aid info. and he printed out some things for her (for free) and she left happy.
Anyway, I get to the storage floor and after looking a long time for Look, I find we have it from 1953 to 1976. I go downstairs to tell the guy.
I do think that woman (the customer) must have a problem about communication.
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