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This is how I got my nick on here

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  • This is how I got my nick on here

    Here's the reason why I've decided to call myself Looney_librarian. I work in the library of the college that I'm going to. Easy hours, quiet for the most part, good coworkers and it helps pay the bills and tuition. However I sit at the reference desk. Let me give you the layout of the library: At the main entrance there's a large desk area and above it it reads in 12" tall letters "Reference & Infromation" to the right as you come in there's a smaller desk that reads "Circulation Services"

    Now in a college you would think people are smart...You would be half right. Smart yes. Common sense, no.

    The usual hours I work leave me by myself at the reference desk. I am constantly getting asked "Do you work here?" (I'm usually the first person they see and I am sitting 2 feet higher than any other student) Where are the computers? (there are close to 100 computers on the first floor alone)"

    We are pretty much another computer lab with as many computers as we have here. But there are no truly dedicated people to work as techies so the job falls to the reference desk.

    I get tech support questions all the time. Right now everyone is coming back to college for the start of spring semester and trying to print off their schedules. One of the printers has gone down and I have put a sign at the print station saying that the printer/computer is not working and to go use another one. It's taped on the screen. I'm upto 15 questions about the printer in my 3 hr shift (We have to keep track of the number and type of questions we've been asked).

    There are some people who are having trouble trying to print. The tell me this while I'm at the desk and are surprised when I ask them to lead me to where they are trying to send the print job to the printer. Like I can magically figure out what's wrong from my computer here....

    I've also had 5 questions concerning where all the books are. We have a map of the floors where all the books are located plus the maps show the general area where certain call letters begin (Library of Congress system). Apparently people don't know how to read that BL comes before BR and that PS is after BR and on another floor (there are signs all over the place retelling people what floor has the particular call numbers.)

    But to top it all off, I get this about once every other shift, "Is this the library?" (No...this is Cobra's training facility for our scientists. You need to go across the street.)

    Makes me wonder how some people got into college.
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

  • #2
    Oh gods, love. I go to an honors college. Everybody here got 1250 (on the old 1600 system) on the SATs or equivalent competence on the ACTs and the like. I'm about mid-range on the totem pole. But we're an honors college, so the pole doesn't go very far down, y'know? And yet I'm consistently amazed by how dumb people are.

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    • #3
      Quoth looney_librarian View Post
      I've also had 5 questions concerning where all the books are. We have a map of the floors where all the books are located plus the maps show the general area where certain call letters begin (Library of Congress system). Apparently people don't know how to read that BL comes before BR and that PS is after BR and on another floor (there are signs all over the place retelling people what floor has the particular call numbers.)
      Ya know heaven forbid they actually have to figure some of this stuff out for themselves or GASP use the library catalog on the computer, it so much more convenient to have someone do it for you.

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      • #4
        I was actually waiting for you to get to the part about porn. Everyone I know who has worked in or spends too much time in the computer section of the campus library has a few stories about porn & stupidity.
        The icon is a bunny with a spiked collar from some carpet ad.

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        • #5
          That happened the other day actually. We have computers outside of the main library that the general public uses. They are full of porn sites and spyware. Well we have sports team members as student assistants. This guy quiet and reserved when he's not playing. Well one lady who was on those computers (looking at porn) sexually harassed the guy short of grabbing his ass. She was escorted out of the building all the while claiming this was reverse sexism...
          Last edited by looney_librarian; 01-11-2008, 01:47 AM.
          Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

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          • #6
            Geez, I got burned out on college reference librarianship in 1988. I don't know how you can stand it, these days.

            Weirdly, I'm in retail management now, but at least we get significant cash bonuses (bonii?) for meeting/surpassing our sales goals.

            I don't recall any bonus program in reference librarianship for satisfactorily answering any set number of research queries.

            Have things changed in the last 20 years?

            Best regards to my learned colleagues,

            R.A.

            P.S. I sure don't miss those boring interminable faculty meetings, either.

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            • #7
              haha, reminds me of the time i worked part time in a library when i was in high school....

              the supervisor said that i was smarter than most of the students who came in there (and i was 16 at the time) seems like libraries at colleges are universal

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