Please Don't Shelve the Books

It may come as a surprise, but sometimes I actually do get away from the perch and flutter around other parts of the library.  Lately, I've been fluttering around the teen section doing some shelf reading.  In plain English, shelf reading is checking to make sure that all the books are in the correct order.  With the passage of time, books tend to wander with the help of patrons who look at books and then return them to the wrong places.

We here at the library truly appreciate our well-meaning patrons who want to be helpful and not trouble us with re-shelving materials that they decide not to get.  Although we are grateful for the gesture, it actually makes more work for us.  First, we don't know that the materials have been misplaced, and second, since we don't know they're misplaced, we can't return them to their proper spots.

There are places in the library where patrons can leave items that need to be re-shelved, and the library staff is more than happy to put those items in their rightful spots.  Librarians may be sticklers about organization but with good reason.  When patrons come to us looking for a book and the catalog tells us the book is on the shelf, it's disappointing to patrons and frustrating to us when the book isn't where it should be.  We don't like not being able to provide something for our patrons, especially when we should have that item available.

So the next time you're in the library and you decide not to check out some materials, please give them to me or any of my colleagues at the perch.  We really won't slap you on the wrist or put a black mark on your library account.  All we want is to put the materials back in their home spots so they can be found when needed.

With thanks for your understanding and cooperation from the perch.

Me Likey (or Not)

It looks like I'm on an etiquette kick this month because lo and behold, I have another etiquette thing to talk about.  Maybe with the holidays around the corner, it's a good thing to pay attention to the little annoying things we may do unknowingly in order to promote peace on earth and goodwill to all men (and women).

E-mailing and especially texting have greatly impacted our writing skills and even our speaking abilities, and I can't say for the better.  Sure, it's convenient and time-saving to abbreviate messages like, "r u ok?" or "btw im @ ur bro's pl."  I admit that I've also adopted the new shorthand of today.  However, when I write formal letters (believe it or not, I actually do sometimes), I use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.  And when I speak to someone in person or over the phone, I actually use complete sentences.

You'd be surprised to know how many people come up to the perch and say (or more often grunt) "computer" rather than "Could I have a computer pass, please?"  My co-workers and I are somewhat grateful that we comprehend that "computer" means that the patron wants to use one of our computers.  Who knows, though?  Maybe one day we'll get a shock and discover that "computer" means something else entirely.

Unless you happen to experience a sudden shortness of breath, it's actually nice to hear people communicate to us in correct English.  Perhaps working with books and words all day have turned me and my co-workers into fuddy duddy keepers of the language, but it would be encouraging to know that technology hasn't caused us to become lazy with our words.

Guarding grammar at the perch.

Phones and Library Etiquette

Needless to say, the cell phone is now a way of life.  Most people (including myself) have them and use them everywhere: the store, the restaurant, the park, and the library.  Yes, even the library, that temple of quiet and shushness has been impacted by the ringtones of Linkin Park and Taylor Swift, not to mention the conversations that follow.  Although I can understand the need to be reachable, what I can't understand is the rudeness that sometimes comes with cell phone use.

Rudeness Feature #1:  People talking loudly.

Alright.  You're waiting for an important phone call while you're in the library.  You finally get that call and take it, but what do you do?  You talk so loudly in the computer lab that you are disturbing others who are trying to work; you're oblivious to the people around you as well as the signs that ask you to turn off your cell phone.  Sometimes, I can clearly hear on the perch every word of a phone conversation taking place clear across the library.

Etiquette Fix--Please talk quietly or even better, take your phone call in an empty study room or outside the library so you do not disturb fellow patrons.

Rudeness Feature #2:  Talking on the phone when you're checking items in or out.

The other day, a patron comes in with a stack of DVDs to the perch.  She's talking on the phone.  She places the DVDs in front of me and waits (she's still talking on the phone).  I wait for her to pause her conversation and tell me what she wants me to do.  Finally, she tells me that she's returning the DVDs.  As I check the items back in, she continues her conversation while looking for more DVDs, and returns to the perch with a new stack.  Again, she puts the cases in front of me and doesn't miss a beat with her conversation.  I assume she wants me to check out the DVDs to her, and so I do just that.  She then takes the DVDs and leaves the library.  I can only wonder that if the roles were reversed and I was the one talking continuously over the phone while trying to help the patron, she would most likely be offended that I did not give her the courtesy of my undivided attention.

Etiquette Fix--When you're coming to me or anyone else at the perch for service, please refrain from talking on your phone.  We find it incredibly impolite and frustrating to work with distracted patrons.  Please give us the same courtesy you expect from us.  We do appreciate it.

Although cell phones are useful tools for functioning in today's world, please don't use them as an excuse for disrespect.  Let's all honor each other and keep the library a welcoming, quiet sanctuary for people to accomplish different things.

Just my 2 cents from the perch.

Libraries and Halloween: A Perfect Pair

There's a lot of buzz around the perch today since we're all getting ready for our Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tonight.  We're always excited about this event not only because it's our busiest night of the year, but also because it's loads of fun.  We enjoy getting ready for it, putting up the decorations, buying the treats, setting up the crafts, and organizing the games.  And we enjoy actually doing it, seeing the kids (and sometimes their parents!) in their cute costumes going all over the library and having a good time.

Libraries have always had various Halloween materials, such as books, movies, and music, but nowadays libraries are doing more traditional things like actual trick-or-treating.  With candy collecting door-to-door becoming less safe, Halloween programs at libraries are popular with parents and kids who can celebrate the holiday inside the safety and warmth of a building.

So if you're looking for a safe place to strut your stuff in your Halloween costume, get some candy and snacks, and party until the ghosts go home, check out your library for fun programs and activities.  You'll have a ghoulish good time!

Happy Halloween from the perch.

You Like Us! You Really Like Us!

Sadly, as a library on a U.S. Air Force Base, we were affected by the recent American government shutdown.  I and my colleagues were disheartened that the library was closed for about a week knowing that a number of our patrons who needed computers to apply for jobs or books for their classes wouldn't have access to our materials on which they rely.  It just didn't feel right being at home when I should have been working on the perch, assisting all my fans who stop by for help or simply to say hello.

On a more positive note, all of us on the library staff were happy to return to work, and it  encouraged us to hear that we were missed by many of you who told the Powers-That-Be that you valued the library and needed it to stay open.  You were glad to have us back, and we were glad to be back.

Of course, we know the worth of libraries and what they do in helping people enhance the quality of their lives.  If we didn't, we wouldn't be doing what we're doing.  But we're human, and sometimes it's nice to actually hear in words that we're appreciated and that we're making a difference to people.

So what I guess I'm trying to say in this post is thank you all for supporting our library, in good times and in bad.  Your support means a lot to us, and we want to support you and yours, whether it's toward school and career goals or just in finding something fun to do.  Take care and please be sure to stop in the library.  We're always happy to see you!

With warm wishes and gratitude from the perch.

Ban the Banned

This week is Banned Books Week, and like many other libraries across the United States, our library has a display of books that have been challenged by schools and individuals for various reasons.  Sometimes these books trigger raw reactions in patrons, as it did in one of our patrons who is also the mother of a 9-year old.

This mother took offense that these books were on display in the teen section where her daughter was able to see them.  I could empathize with her and understand her concern.  Every parent has the right to protect his or her child and monitor the materials the child is reading.   

And speaking of rights, just as everyone has the right not to read something, everyone has the right to read something.  That is the whole purpose of Banned Books Week--to emphasize everyone's freedom to information and to read items of his or her choosing.  Unlike other nations, such as North Korea and China, that censor materials their citizens can read, we live in a country in which we can freely access all kinds of information.

Naturally, everyone is different and has different levels of sensitivity to various subjects.  Every library will most likely have materials that may be unsettling to some individuals.  However, it is not the duty of a library to act as a censoring board.  An American library's first and foremost responsibility is to provide information to everyone who seeks it regardless of who is doing the seeking or the library staff member's personal feelings about the information.  An American library is obligated to follow the Library Bill of Rights as developed by the American Library Association.

So when you visit your library this week and see those displays of challenged books, please don't take offense.  Be reminded that we live in a nation in which we're fortunate to read whatever we want without anyone stopping us from doing so.  And remember--you have the freedom not to read whatever you want as well.

Just my take from the perch.

Bookless Libraries

Very recently, a "bookless" library opened in San Antonio.  In its 4,000 square-foot area there are no print books, magazines, or newspapers.  Instead, it has e-books, e-readers, computers, laptops, and iPads.  It's completely paperless, the wave of the future.

I had a chat with one of my co-workers the other day about the idea of a library without print books and materials.  The electronic age is undoubtedly here whether or not we like it.  We're becoming more dependent on the Internet and electronic devices for information, job searching, and communication.  Over two years ago in another post, I stated that I wasn't completely sold on e-readers and e-books, and I have to say that I'm still of the same opinion today.  I haven't been fully swayed to the electronic side.  Yet.

Call me old school, but I enjoy the visceral experience of a print book.  I like the weight of a book in my hand, the feel of the pages, the smell of the paper and the ink.  I like flipping the pages between my fingers.  When I go to a library or bookstore, I'm like a kid in the candy store looking at the colorful book cover designs, perusing the arrangement of the displays, and picking up those smooth rectangular gems of knowledge and storytelling.  Somehow, scrolling through a list of titles with small accompanying icons on a computer screen just doesn't do the same thing for me as walking through the stacks.

I imagine the growing emergence of e-books is akin to the debut of print books.  I wonder whether people (the few who were literate way back when) had a difficult time adapting to print books after scrolls were used for so long.  Did print books and scrolls exist side by side until print books became less expensive and more practical for use?  I wonder whether print books and e-books will exist side by side now for a time until e-readers become more universally compatible?

What do you think?  Do you want to have a choice between reading a print book or an e-book?  Or do you want to move forward and read e-books exclusively?

Very yours truly, having one hand on a book and another on the computer at the perch.