I hate our library.

[staceyobu]

Does anyone else have this problem? They act as if I am ruining their day by checking out books. They have an auto check out deal... but I've had to pay fines twice lately and then it's been broken a couple of times lately... Maybe it's the fines that irritate them?

 

I'm to the point of never wanting to go back... but Barnes and Noble is a very expensive alternative. :(

[Cammie]

I am sorry you are having a bad time with them. Perhaps my situation will let you see that it is not soo bad having grumpy check out people! In India the whole concept of a public library for each community is non-existant! Yes, we have no place to go to borrow books from for free as often as we like. I never realized how much I took it for granted until it was gone! We do have private libraries. I have taken a membership and it works like Netflix - when I am done with books they pick up the old ones and deliver the new ones off the list. But I miss the other things about a library like strolling in the stacks, finding a surprising new book, having kids excited about going to the library and picking out their own books, etc, etc.

 

What I wouldn't give for one grumpy old librarian scowling at me!

[EthiopianFood]

I am sorry you are having a bad time with them. Perhaps my situation will let you see that it is not soo bad having grumpy check out people! In India the whole concept of a public library for each community is non-existant! Yes, we have no place to go to borrow books from for free as often as we like. I never realized how much I took it for granted until it was gone! We do have private libraries. I have taken a membership and it works like Netflix - when I am done with books they pick up the old ones and deliver the new ones off the list. But I miss the other things about a library like strolling in the stacks, finding a surprising new book, having kids excited about going to the library and picking out their own books, etc, etc.

 

What I wouldn't give for one grumpy old librarian scowling at me!

 

What I wouldn't give to live in India for awhile. I guess it's all relative. :D

[TammyinTN]

Does anyone else have this problem? They act as if I am ruining their day by checking out books. They have an auto check out deal... but I've had to pay fines twice lately and then it's been broken a couple of times lately... Maybe it's the fines that irritate them?

 

I'm to the point of never wanting to go back... but Barnes and Noble is a very expensive alternative. :(

 

I know what you mean..but have learned over the years to disarm them with my cheerfulness. :D Be happy, don't let them rain on your parade! Smile and chat it up with them.

[kalanamak]

I know what you mean..but have learned over the years to disarm them with my cheerfulness. :D Be happy, don't let them rain on your parade! Smile and chat it up with them.

 

:iagree: I would try this, too. Act like they are the most wonderful people on earth. Compliment their dress, or their breath or something. Act giddy with joy. Every now and then this reminds people of what they are missing. It's free and may just be a hoot.

[lulubelle]

I agree about pouring on some cheer to them! I have actually sent a letter to the head of our library to complain about the bittyness/bitterness of the librarians here! They all need a love for people workshop! Now that we homeschool the library is invaluable to us. The librarian is now my servant to my needs. They are simply a means to my books that I need. My purpose is stronger than their rules and unfriendliness.

[TraceyS/FL]

Our library overall is great - small, but they are building a new one.

 

However, i'm NOT liking the "new" lady at the counter at all. She never smiles, she's pissy about the $1.80 i owe (i truly do NOT have access to money lady, if i had it, i'd pay it), there is no "banter" with her, we apparently are a big pain because we need to check out books......

 

DD had made some comments about her at the end of the school year (they do art class there weekly), and I thought she was exaggerating..... NOPE.

 

I have to tolerate her because it's close... but i think i'll mention it to someone. Heck, i'm not even sure she is a PAID employee.

 

ETA: well, she must be paid - she has her picture on the website. Gee, she CAN "smile". Imagine that.....

Edited September 18, 2009 by TraceyS/FL

[TraceyS/FL]

That is like ours, it's NOT funded by the county, the TOWN pays for it. It is part of the County system so i can go anywhere in the county, but still, i pay my taxes for this one.

 

The nice lady retired and i guess she is all they could come up with to replace her???? (our whole library staff probably doesn't total 5! LOL!!!)

[KingM]

It's the comments that I find tedious. "Are you going to read all of those book? Wow, this is going to take awhile. You must have thirty books there." Or, to my daughter, "That looks kind of advanced for you. I wouldn't check it out if you're just going to let it sit there."

 

Every single time we get some variation of, "That's a lot of books."

 

Hey, it's a library. You check out books. We read them. We help boost your circulation numbers so you can justify your budget. Stop complaining.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I am totally spoiled by our libraries here. I live in a suburb of Cleveland, and have several really great choices of library. We have the county library system which has two branches near my house and a private city library with two branches near my house. And the Cleveland Public Library system is phenomenal! I've never had a bad experience with nasty staff or being ignored. (Well, some are certainly more pleasant than others, but no one has been too terrible.)

 

However, I really, really appreciate our libraries after having lived in France. Both in my university library and the public library in my city, you could only touch a few shelves of books. To use the library, you had to fill out forms, then have a criminal background check, credit check, promise to sign over your first-born child if you lost a book . . . Okay, I'm exaggerating, but that's what it felt like. Once you had your library documentation, you could request a book and a library staff person would find it and then you could check it out. How I missed wandering up and down the stacks of books, pulling some out to read the jacket! I guess that's why book stores are so popular in France.

[lgm]

No, haven't had that one. The library people here vary from calm to outgoing, but no one treats anyone like they aren't wanted.

 

Certain stores, on the other hand - yes! My worst experience was a deli where I placed my order, then the person didn't make it..she decided to take and make the order for a small group behind me. She didn't give my order to the other employee, or mention to the manager who came over and asked me if I needed help that she already had my order ( I did very politely). She made it obvious that she had pulled the race & country of origin card on me. I go to another deli now where everyone is served first come, first serve regardless of appearances.

[hsmom3tn]

Wow, I am sorry for anyone who has to deal with rude/grouchy staff at their library :( Please don't let them discourage you or make you not want to use the library, though.

 

We are very fortunate to have kind and helpful staff at our libraries.

 

.... now the ladies in the customer service dept. at Wal-Mart are a completely different story.... :scared:

[Pajama Mama]

Our library is great. I make a point of bringing them donuts a couple times a year to show our appreciation. You should see them scurry to the back area to feast on them:001_smile:

[TammyinTN]

Our library is great. I make a point of bringing them donuts a couple times a year to show our appreciation. You should see them scurry to the back area to feast on them:001_smile:

 

Exactly what I was going to suggest. I do bring a peace offering sometimes when I've forgotten something (chocolate bars). They soften up really quickly. ;)

[EthiopianFood]

It's the comments that I find tedious. "Are you going to read all of those book? Wow, this is going to take awhile. You must have thirty books there." Or, to my daughter, "That looks kind of advanced for you. I wouldn't check it out if you're just going to let it sit there."

 

Every single time we get some variation of, "That's a lot of books."

 

Hey, it's a library. You check out books. We read them. We help boost your circulation numbers so you can justify your budget. Stop complaining.

 

Gross, especially the bolded part.

[eternalknot]

Or, to my daughter, "That looks kind of advanced for you. I wouldn't check it out if you're just going to let it sit there."

 

 

::blink blink::

 

Well, lady, you ain't me :glare:.

 

Our library went from politely questioning my son's reading and comprehension levels (when we put in material requests) to ordering similar advanced readers for him that they think he'll like, based on his prior requests. As with any other relationship, it took work to get there including one trained seal type exercise where they tried to quiz him on the (adult) book he had brought back in with a request that they order the rest of the author's series. He held them hostage for over 15 minutes with quite the detailed narration and oral book report :lol: including the author's academic background and bias, which he had googled.

 

And of course, he's a natural suck up who doesn't hesitate to share with them that he thinks they have the coolest job in the world and if he doesn't become a soldier like his dad he definitely wants to be a librarian LOL. They love hearing that, ask him every week if he's still on the librarian track.

[FriedClams]

I live in Podunk. We have a small library. I wish it were bigger and brighter and newer and that the kids section were 20 times larger. I hate that each book incurs a 25 cent PER DAY PER BOOK fine. It's outrageous....

 

But most of our librarians are joy. Pure and simple. Joy to be around - lovely ladies and many either homeschooler grads or had been HSed at one point. The older lady that actually requires my card - she's annoying and I avoid her. (Seriously - how many people with MY name are in the computer? OH - ME!!! That's it!!) I love the library and the great ladies who work there - even with the fines and everything!

[Mothersweets]

I agree about pouring on some cheer to them! I have actually sent a letter to the head of our library to complain about the bittyness/bitterness of the librarians here! They all need a love for people workshop! Now that we homeschool the library is invaluable to us. The librarian is now my servant to my needs. They are simply a means to my books that I need. My purpose is stronger than their rules and unfriendliness.

 

Do you think it helped? I'm not being snarky or anything-I'm just curious. I've always thought about doing that when confronted with consistently nasty customer service but have never followed through.

 

Our librarians are pretty nice but the selection isn't as great as I would expect for a library of its size.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It's the comments that I find tedious. "Are you going to read all of those book? Wow, this is going to take awhile. You must have thirty books there." Or, to my daughter, "That looks kind of advanced for you. I wouldn't check it out if you're just going to let it sit there."

 

Every single time we get some variation of, "That's a lot of books."

 

Hey, it's a library. You check out books. We read them. We help boost your circulation numbers so you can justify your budget. Stop complaining.

 

Hmm, we routinely borrow books, not to gorge on but to sample. If all that my emerging reader gets out of the latest space book that he checked out is enticement to keep up with his lessons so he CAN read it soon, then isn't it worth it.

 

I can see if you check out a high demand book and then don't return it on time, but seriously, most books aren't on a continual hold status.

 

I do feel for the librarians. A significant sample of the library patrons in our library are there for the computers, not for books. There are a lot of kids who hang out there after school, with no adults other than the library staff. Here on our base, it is mostly the 10+ group, but the branch we used in Hawaii was even younger. The security guard came on just before school let out and stayed until closing. I got the impression that a number of area families used the library as a stashing place for their kids rather than having them go home alone or go to a sitter. On one hand, I would have loved to spend that amount of time in the library as a kid. But these large groups of kids are often not involved in research, studies, homework or even quiet browsing. There are frequently kids playing tag around the stacks. I corrected one teen recently who had been popping his head into the women's bathroom. He didn't look chagrined at all, but chose to argue with me and shake his fist at me.

 

The library we visit in downtown Cincinnati often has homeless people hanging out as a warm/air conditioned public space with bathrooms. The guards will ask them to leave if they make a commotion or are sleeping, but otherwise let them be.

 

In other words, I think that librarians also have to put up with patrons who are less than ideal. I am another one who tries hard to find things to talk to the librarians about, to get them to identify with us as individuals, who value the library and respect the help they can provide. If I find out one of the clerks is working on a degree, I ask about classes on every visit. I will comment to the children's librarian that a particular book was really good and could they get the sequel. I complemented one librarian on the new shelves in the children's section. He was not only thrilled that someone had noticed but swapped stories of favorite books and told me all about his upcoming wedding. I noticed that one of our Japanese librarians was reading The Call of the Wild and marking up her printout with translations, so I told her about Librivox and brought the link next time I visited (The next time I came in, she had learned and used my name).

 

It can be a challenge. There are in fact grumpy people who end up as librarians, just like other professions. But it is also possible to crack the nut on some of them.

[stripe]

Because I'm usually quite happy with the library in my town, I did complained about one nasty library employee before (after repeated incidents, usually implying that I should use self-checkout and not ask for any help whatsoever, and once implying I didn't know my alphabet), and I received a phone call and an apology from the head of circulation. And the woman did look more cheerful the next time. Imagine that.

 

I was once a public employee and someone brought me cookies as a mark of appreciation. One friend / member of the public used to bring me food at work, and I was never told not to accept such things. Maybe cash is the problem? I don't know. As long as you're not being bribed (I'll give you a cookie, you erase my fines!), I don't see an ethical conflict.

[meet me in paris]

This makes me so sad! There really are nice librarians out there! ;)

[Melissa in St Louis]

I was once a public employee and someone brought me cookies as a mark of appreciation. One friend / member of the public used to bring me food at work, and I was never told not to accept such things. Maybe cash is the problem? I don't know. As long as you're not being bribed (I'll give you a cookie, you erase my fines!), I don't see an ethical conflict.

 

Once we took a road trip and packed the massive bag of library books in the car for everyone to read....life fell apart after that for a month or so and I forgot all about that gigantic bag of books under the dining room table waiting to be returned. My email address also had to be changed, so I wasn't getting any messages from the Beloved Library Elf....enter a huge plate of homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and a sincere and honest apology and they dropped like $75 off my bill. Cookies and a smile. Haven't found a person yet that isn't softened by them. :D

[swellmomma]

We have 1 lady at our library who can be very gruff. She likes to bark at the kids if they talk above a whisper, or if they get too excited to remember to walk not run to the program room for whatever special thing they were signed up for. She even got rude with me once because we were using my ds's cards for all of our books not our individual cards. I had to let her know that a) it was none of her business and b) using all the individual cards it what caused me to have huge fines that I am still paying off, using the one helped me keep track. SHe shut up about it then.

 

There is usually 6 people on staff at any time so i just deal with the rest and avoid her as much as I can. They all know me and kids fairly well since we are there 2-3 days a week, and are very kind and helpful.

[swellmomma]

It's the comments that I find tedious. "Are you going to read all of those book? Wow, this is going to take awhile. You must have thirty books there." Or, to my daughter, "That looks kind of advanced for you. I wouldn't check it out if you're just going to let it sit there."

 

Every single time we get some variation of, "That's a lot of books."

 

Hey, it's a library. You check out books. We read them. We help boost your circulation numbers so you can justify your budget. Stop complaining.

 

That would drive me nuts. What we usually hear is comments like "Didn't you just check out our full selection of venus books yesterday, now you have all our fall books too" while she is chuckling. (It is said in a friendly way). THe staff pretty much know what we are studying due to the vast number of books and dvd's I take out about 1 topic at a time.

[SilverMoon]

We love our library. Most of the librarians are top notch, love to help, chat with the kids about their books, joked with my ds when he had to admit his baby sister ripped a page.

 

The only noteworthy negative is the occasional clerk who gets overwhelmed by the seven of us each holding our own stack of books. Most of the clerks get a kick out of our "book train" coming up to the counter and ask us to put them all up at once, in a row of stacks. Then they work through it stack at a time and ask to see which kid it goes to, with a big smile on their face.

 

Every once in awhile we get one who cringes at the sight of us and their grumpy expression gets bigger with each individual stack put on the counter. ~shrug~ Then one of us, usually myself, realizes they're still holding books that didn't get put on the counter. If looks could kill I'd be toast. :001_huh:

[Desert Rat]

Our library trips used to be like this until they revamped their system and I can check out books and check them back in by myself! What a relief! Now, I'm still missing those 2 books (Yeah, I'll call that lady. I'm just working on getting some guts-if you saw my other thread.) so we'll see how they snarl at me when I have to tell them about that!

I'm lucky in that I live in a big city with lots of libraries. I used to avoid the library closest to me because I didn't like the librarians. I've noticed a big change in their attitudes now that the self check is up and running. They were the most busy and over used library in town and I think the pressure showed on their faces and in their attitudes.

[lulubelle]

Writing a letter to complain about the children's librarians did nothing. They sent back no apology and accepted no responsibility. And, let me tell you what caused the letter. My husband was holding my then 1 year old next to a balloon (a large animal shape one) that they keep on the counter next to the fish tank. It is there for advertisement for a place that sells balloons. There are no signs around that say do not touch the balloon. My husband stood next to it and let my daughter touch it. A librarian came over snapped, "Not everything is for children to play with" quite harshly. My husband was so annoyed he discarded her comment. She rushed over snatched the balloon away from the counter with a huff. I was so bewildered that anyone public servant would act that way. I have heard many moms in this area say how they hate even going to the library because of the women behind the desk. It is just awful!

[Audrey]

My library is very small. People tell me and my assistant that we're much nicer than the bigger library in the town 30 miles away (that's the next closest one). I know we're very small. Our building is old and the furnishings look like a 1970's living room. It's all we have though. My philosophy is that if we can't be big and flashy, we can make the most of cozy and homey.

 

I did recently go to the big library. I had to arrange a room for a meeting there. No one else was waiting at the service desk, and there were 3 employees behind it. I stood there for more than 5 minutes trying to catch someone's eye without actually "ahem-ing." It was like they were purposefully trying to avoid me. In the time I was waiting 3 more people got in line behind me.

 

Now... those employees didn't know me, but I do know the administrator at that library because I'd met her many times at our local communication meetings and at the provincial conference. I finally asked, if "Mary" was in and that got their attention. Those gals behind the desk had rushed to check out the line that had built up as soon as they knew "Mary" was coming though. One of them went and got "Mary" for me, and when she arrived and we got past the pleasantries, she asked what did I need. I told her, I just needed to book a room, but maybe I was in the wrong line for that (there obviously isn't any other line, btw) because I seemed to be unable to get the room booked. Quietly and privately, I did tell her how I'd had to wait. Librarian to librarian. We both knew how unacceptable that was for employees to sit back there avoiding patrons. I know I'd have wanted her to tell me if she'd had a similar experience at my library.

 

All that is to say... they shouldn't treat you like that, and I'd be surprised if their supervisor is okay with them treating you like that. If I were her/him, I'd want to know what's going on.

[Word Nerd]

I love our library, and we have great librarians! Occasionally, a book or DVD refuses to scan on the self-check station so I have to take it to the desk to be checked. It's a little irksome when the person implies I just don't know how to use the self-check machine even though I check out at least two dozen items a week and only one item in my whole stack isn't scanning correctly.

[stripe]

I pointed out when I made my complaint that anyone who thinks library patrons are a pain or wishes there would be fewer books checked out or wishes patrons would all use self-check out, is asking to be laid off. The comment that implied I was trying to scan the item's bar code (the one on the back by the price) instead of the library's was what sent it over the edge.

 

And just for the record, I see nothing wrong with library circulation employees offering to reduce or eliminate fees due to extenuating circumstances. Someone who had a heart attack and didn't return books on time should not have to pay a huge amount of fees. Someone whose car was stolen (with books in the back) deserves a break. Fees are there are an incentive to encourage people to return items on time, not to make library services prohibitively expensive. I am all in favor of cookies. :)

[Saille]

The library in the last town we lived in was like this, and it drove me crazy. I wrote a long, detailed letter about the importance of pleasant librarians in a world with a declining literacy rate, and explained how disappointed I was that my children, unlike me, would not have librarian mentors to recommend good books, support their reading interests, etc..

[kewb]

I am sorry your library is like that.

 

I <3 my library and the librarians. The last time I went to pick up a book I requested the librarian spent a few minutes looking on the shelf, on the slot, on another shelf. Finally she comes over and says "I'm so sorry but I can only find this one book. I can't find the rest." I burst out laughing and said "No, I'm sorry. There is only one book today."

[EmilyK]

:001_smile: They are quiet, kind, discreet. I think it is part of their training and it is such a relief, since most retail employees comment on what I'm buying, etc. But I think librarians especially need to be careful not to make a lot of comments, especially negative ones. I mean, the complaints here are all about checking out children's books -- could there be anything more wholesome? And the librarians need to be just as kind to those checking out books/materials on all sorts of embarrassing topics.

 

But I'm mostly here to point out how much stress librarians are under these days. At least here, the libraries are facing budget cuts, and -- in addition to the whole untended kid problem, and the homeless issues already noted -- there are a lot of people there who need help on computers and job applications. Our library is working with patrons who have never used a computer but now have to do online job applications and look at financing statements online, while coping with the patron's stress about unemployment, foreclosure, lost retirement savings, etc. And the lines are loooong for the computers.

 

So I'm fond of my librarians.

[LibrarianMom]

I'm not excusing the poor customer service any of you have received at your circulation desks, but please keep in mind that the individuals who work at the circulation desk are not librarians but circulation clerks or library assistants. For example, our public library has only one librarian with a degree--the director. They do not have the education librarians are required to have and often make minimum wage, work part-time, and have no other benefits. Your local Wal-Mart employee most likely makes more money. Because they are part-time, bottom of the totem pole workers, they also do not usually have the authority to decrease or completely forgive fines. They should be able to take a note for you though or direct you to their supervisor if there is an extenuating situation concerning a book.

[Denise in Florida]

We live within easy walking distance of a library that has the meanest librarians I have ever met. They have told me to my face that they will not do inter-library loans because it is too much work.

 

My dd15 walks there on her own every now and then, when I ask how it went she always says "I didn't get bit." like that was a minor miracle. :lol:

 

My older girl volunteered at another library (5 miles away) for a year and refused to step inside the nearer one.

[Word Nerd]

I'm not excusing the poor customer service any of you have received at your circulation desks, but please keep in mind that the individuals who work at the circulation desk are not librarians but circulation clerks or library assistants. For example, our public library has only one librarian with a degree--the director. They do not have the education librarians are required to have and often make minimum wage, work part-time, and have no other benefits. Your local Wal-Mart employee most likely makes more money.

 

This is not the case at our libraries.

[stripe]

I don't think that anyone said only librarians have good manners, or something. I'm aware of the difference, but I have had weird and great encounters with both librarians and other library employees.

[MyThreeSons]

sorry -- I LOVE our library system. If they would do away with fines, it would be just about perfect. :D

 

I frequent several different branches throughout the county. I'm greeted warmly at each one, sometimes getting a hug if I haven't been to that branch in a while; the staff ask about my boys if they're not with me. The head librarian (for the whole county) once offered to hand deliver a book I had reserved but accidentally had it sent to the headquarters branch rather than my local branch. When the computer shows an item is on the shelf, but I can't find it, the staff are happy to search the shelving carts.

 

As homeschoolers, the library is very important to us. I'm blessed to have a good system!