#library work tag

[gregorvorbarra]

me: hey boss we’re understaffed and overworked, can we delay expanding services until we are adequately staffed

the boss: no, but good news, you’re getting new staff

me: okay can I have some extra support because training a new person takes more work than doing the job on my own

the boss: no but i promise i will help you :) we’ll be ok :)

me: 🙃🔪

[gregorvorbarra]

a patron once walked in to the library and asked us if we had a jacket or a bra she could wear

yeah um sure let me just pull out a spare bra for you

she was wearing a tank top with nothing underneath, and she was very uncomfortable, and said, "I'm not turned on or anything, it's just cold", and I felt for her, but like. we're a library. my coworker Alex and I just looked at each other like, do we...

(no)

[gregorvorbarra]

my library is going fine free in July, which I'm REALLY excited about. finally! no late fines!

and we've just been telling people about it, mostly when they try to pay their fines. we tell them that they're welcome to pay them, but those fines will be going away on their own in less than a month

some people are really relieved, think this is great. some people object, saying, "so what's going to make people bring back their books?" and I say to them that if the books aren't back after 30 days, people get charged for the full price of the books. (that charge goes away once the book is returned.) this satisfies them. some ask why, and my response is, "this is a barrier to access, especially for children, who don't really have a choice" (this seems reasonable to people, and they nod)

but one person said, "But then how are you supposed to support the library??"

this boggles me. uhhh vote for measures that support the library? show up to our events? DONATE to the library? I did say this, but I am boggled. you can always just... donate?

anyways no late fines soon!! I'm v excited

[gregorvorbarra]

a patron called today to check if anyone had turned in his cell phone, that he lost bc he left it plugged in, unattended on a table, and was like "remember me?"

I said no, I must not have been there earlier. he asked my name. I said it. and then he angrily tells me that I WAS there, that I helped him earlier that day, he read my name tag, how DARE I SAY I DONT REMEMBER

it happened an hour earlier, when I was very much in a meeting, and not in the library

I said "I wasn't here an hour ago"

he said, "then it was the other Hispanic girl!"

im not mad, it's just really fucking funny. our names are nothing alike. her name isn't even in spanish

[gregorvorbarra]

my boss is interested in starting a knitting circle at our library, which I really want to do! I keep thinking of how to run it and all, and it's exciting

personally, I would love to teach kids (particularly teens) to knit, but my boss is thinking of doing it as a senior program, because we have very little of those

either way, it's exciting! I hope I get to do it

[gregorvorbarra]

I always take careful notes during meetings because otherwise I get bored, and being bored in meetings is not good. I have adhd. I can't handle being bored. especially not in meetings

but sometimes there nothing being said that's worth writing down, so I start drawing. I wonder what people think about that

btw

here's an excerpt from yesterday's meeting notes:

"Morgan called Ray a punk ass"

I am by far the youngest person in this committee

[gregorvorbarra]

how to make a good first impression to a higher-up:

be thoughtful and attentive

share relevant insight

buy her fresh baked goods from the French baker who arrives at the library every Wednesday morning with baskets full of bread

bribery, hell yeah!

[gregorvorbarra]

child: running toward the front door, ready to run out into the street

me: HEY BUDDY! DO YOU WANT A ✨STICKER✨??

child: immediately stops and runs back to the desk and patiently waits to get a sticker

stickers are the most important thing in the world and the most vital of the supplies at work