Library Annoyances

I always give an inward smirk when people tell me they wanted to be a librarian. Many of those individuals are book lovers and they like the idea of being surrounded by books. A good reason. Nothing wrong with it, but they don't understand the reality that librarians are surrounded by annoying people. We librarian don't have the pleasure of reading all day while working at the library. It's actually frowned upon. Unless you are reading professional reading material. I find it lame that we can't take the time to read while working. There are plenty of people who come up to us and ask for a good book to read. Everyone is different, with different tastes, and it would help if I was given the time to read more to give our patrons ideas. But I'm just a reference librarian, low on the food chain. My voice isn't heard.

Here are some of the annoyances I experience while working at the library. They are in no particular order. Some days the smallest incident will bring me to a boiling point.

• Administrators who only look at the numbers.
• Administrators who think they know how to make the public happy when they haven't seen the people who visit the library.
• Parents who believe the library is a good place for their children to throw temper tantrums.
• Parents who let their children run through the library and think it's cute. It's fucking annoying.
• People who think Google gives them all the answers. Just the other day, I was answering questions via chat to a gentleman who asked how long does it take for the skin to replace itself. I was searching through reputable health databases and websites and not coming up with anything. All the sudden he gives me a message stating, "I found an answer that said 35 days." I asked him, where did you find the answer? I was curious. There's a possibilty that I could use his source in the future. His reply, "Google." What a fucking answer I thought. Google did not give him the answer, Google gave him many different websites with his chosen search strategy. And another thing, why is he asking me the question when he obviously found the answer. Asshole.
• Patrons who are impatient. In this day and age with microwave ovens, high-speed internet, fast food drive thrus, self checkouts at the grocery store, etc. people are expecting an answer this second. You take more than a minute and you're just fucking incompetent. I hate to hear, "that's okay, I'll look it up myself." Which usually turns into them getting on the internet, going to Google and finding the answer. It doesn't matter where the answer came from, or whether or not it's correct. It's an answer and they found it on Google.
• People who don't want to find the answer in a book. One of the administrators at the library, and the person who buys the library's reference books asked a question about former Vice President Al Gore. Now, she was at the reference desk, in front of a computer when asking the question. Now, my first thought is to grab the Who's Who of the America. It's a multi-volume book that will have the basics and a little bit more of many individuals in the United States. Since each page has several columns of small print written, it took me a couple of seconds to find his name. I find his name, bring the book to her, open it to the information on Al Gore, and she tells me, "don't worry I'll find it." And she heads straight to the computer. The fucking answer was right in front of her. She found the answer on the computer a couple minutes later, with the open book in front of her.
• People who think we will do everything for me. We do not write resumes. We do not type letters. We do not babysit. I just love it when people say, "Well, someone told me you will help me with this." Yes we will help. We will help you sign on to a computer. We will provide you all the information you need to write a resume, but we do not do the work for you.
• How about those people who come up to the desk and say, "I don't know how to work a computer. Will you do this for me?" Mostly it's find a book. All I have to do is type the name of the book, author, keywork, or subject and we can find it. What bother's me are those individuals who say, "I'm not going to learn how to use a computer. I don't see why I should." It's that answer than I want to say, "fucker." But I smile and go on. (Once someone asked me if I was always happy because I always had a smile on my face. The answer was a BIG no. I smile because I can't curse at people. At least not while I'm working. Who am I kidding, I hardly curse at anyone. I just can't seem to do it.)
• People who try butter me up before asking for a favor, "the library has always been great to me, you all are wonderful, could you do this for me?" What would I like to say, "listen lady, just ask your damn question. Don't butter us up. An while you're at it, learn how to use the damn copier. You've seen us use it for you plenty of times."
• Don't I seem like a cheerful Librarian.
• Don't get me wrong, I'm fairly kind and nice to everyone who comes up to the desk for help. I've formed friendships with some of the people. I like working with the public. (I'd be a hermit for sure if I didn't work a the library). There just happens to be certain moments when I have to take a deep mental breath and go one. Sometimes a mental middle finger does the trick too.