Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Getting my attention

Do not hiss at me to get my attention. I do not speak Parseltongue.
Also, do not snap your fingers at me to get my attention. I am not a dog.

You may call me "miss," "ma'am," "librarian," "O Great Goddess of Information," or any other non-profanity. Just... please, if I'm going to make the effort to help you, I'd like you to make the effort to address me in a human language.

Meet Mr. Subject

I should have started writing about this guy earlier. Mr. Subject is a nice guy, but he's a little "off." Sometimes he seems really bright, sometimes... not so much. I'm not sure what's up with him.

Anyway, the reason I call him Mr. Subject is that he comes in with the most random requests. I should have started writing them down immediately, but... I didn't.

Here are some things that I remember Mr. Subject asking me for in the past:
Picture books with tall ships
Pictures of black labs
History of submarines
Fiction about submarines
Beer can collecting
Pictures of classic sports cars
Science fiction with a shipwreck, preferably with pirates

A couple of days ago, he asked for a mystery with sailboats. Later that day he called and asked for a book on tennis, but couldn't be more specific. He wanted "Players... or courts or something. I dunno." I suggested an encyclopedia of tennis, and he liked that idea.

Overheard: Today he asked Belle for a mystery set in the Caribbean, and one set in Hawaii.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Souvenirs

Pop quiz, hotshots! (I love that movie.)

Due to space problems, children's program took place in the middle of the library this evening. Guess what the presenter handed out to all the kids as a prize for winning the grownup/kid competition!
a) Paperback books!
b) Craft materials to make sparkly paper butterflies!
c) Pretty high-quality bookmarks with this year's summer reading program theme!
d) Kazoos!

That's right, kids! If you guessed D, you win... I dunno, a kazoo. And a migraine.




In other news, I taught my second "Computers for N00bs" (not the actual title) class this evening. These n00bs were actually pretty good, fast learners. I was quite impressed that we got through the whole thing fifteen minutes ahead of time. (The class is an hour long, with an optional half-hour practice session.) Best of all, their evaluations of the class were actually comprehensible. Good job, n00bs! *hands out gold stars*