Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Mean Librarian - Or Not?

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/resources/2007/05/mean%20librarian.jpg Okay so a few months ago I checked out six copies of the same book for my book club, all on my card. These women are all my good friends and I trust them all explicitly. We all remember returning them to the library but of course one did not get checked in. We have all searched and searched. I have made the library search and search (since I know it was them that lost it....grrrrrrrr) I have renewed it countless times and of course it was a freakin hard bound with a $30 fine. They all graciously agree to chip in $5 then we get an idea.....My book club pals find it online at Amazon. I call the library......of course they say no replacing the book yourself and paying the $5 cataloging fee. It must be a library bound edition! So I find a library bound edition online and decide to try my luck......but I was not brave enough to actually buy it first....in case I would then be out $45 instead of $30.

So here's how it went down tonight.....here is an excert from the e-mail I wrote to my book club gals.....

Okay------so you know the REALLY REALLY ONERY librarian at the (local) library? The one we all avoid? Well I went tonight to face the gallows. My time was up. Max renewals. So I kept waiting for another nicer librarian to come up to the desk but gave up by about 8:15. I must have been a piece of work tonight. Of all the times to look put together and never-lost-a-book-in-my lifeish………… I had LOST my library card that I have had for like 8 years.

So after getting a new card I edged into telling her that I was wondering if I could have her renew the lost book ONE MORE TIME, explaining again about the book club and I told her I had found it online at Amazon in LIBRARY BOUND as required. She said NO WAY, ABSOLUTELY NOT, CANNOT DO, MUST PAY WHOLE $30. NEVER SHOULD HAVE CHECKED OUT BOOKS FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE RAG RAG RAG (long line behind me) then said. “I will put it on trace for you”

“What does that mean?” I ask. “It means if they find it they find it!” she snapped. “

About this time she snaps at a poor lady trying to use the self-check for the first time (snatching her card away from her and telling her she had it upside down or backwards) then she really gave it to a guy who waked in barefoot-----you can bet he will never try that again----all the while working with me. Truly eyes in the back of her head.

“Will it go back on my card if they don’t find it?” I timidly ask. “NO OF COURSE NOT!” she practically snarls at me. You now have fines totaling $5.10. I gratefully paid them in full and snuck out. Hmmmmmmm..............Did I just get off scot-free by the mean librarian? I got home and called the main library….to find out exactly what "putting a trace on it" means......and it will not go back on my card. Can you believe it? WOW?! I msut be living right!

Long story short – she is a nice lady deep down and just acts mean! (you know-the mean librarian image?) I remember once her snarling at me about a book I was checking out and asking if it was good. Maybe she just likes to snarl and snap.

Morals of this story:

1. Never judge a book by it's title (the book wasn't even that good!)

2. Never judge a mean librarian.

3. Blame it on your book club, even if it was probably you that lost it! (hee hee)


3 comments:

Wendy said...

Hey, I think that we have all had to deal with our share of mean librarians or mean school secretaries, or mean teachers. I swear, sometimes I think that they are on a "Power Surge" and they are never wrong. Grrr is right! I'm with you sister. I still judge a book by the cover or whoever it might be. I guess I need to repent to be more like you. :) Your posts always make me smile. I love them.

heidi said...

I swear all librarians are like that. Grumpy grumpy. Cool that you got off!

One Sassy Mama said...

Dang--I wish I'd known they would do a trace BEFORE I'd paid for two books that I know I didn't lose.

It seems like everytime I do a request for a book from another library...it takes forever for them to log it back into their system when I return it.

So, like a dummy I paid for both books (two separate times) once I had renewed it my maximum times.

Luckily, they were kids books and were only about $10 each.