When I went down to the children's department to work my afternoon shift at the desk I was a bit surprised at how messy the shelves were and how much of a shelving backlog there was. There weren't really any toys or books to clean up on the floor or tables, but the shelves didn't look very tidy and had lots of gaps. So I spent a fair amount of time at the beginning while it was slow straightening the shelves, edging the books, closing the gaps, and picking up strays.
Then when I headed back to the desk to write something on the calendar, I realized that one of the pages was on vacation that week, leaving the newly-hired page to do all the shelving. It's to be expected that one will be a little slower in the beginning until they get used to the layout and figure out the most efficient way to do things. Plus I'm not sure if anyone told her she should try to straighten and edge as she shelves. Though that was obvious to me as a page, I know it isn't obvious to everyone. So I tried to help out by sorting the carts to make it easier and faster for her to shelve, and shelved the DVD's we had security cases for.
Batman and his father were back again today, and he was in full costume, with mask, cape, the works. We also had a visit from the circulation supervisor at one of the branches with her newborn baby and toddler, and it was nice to see them and visit for a bit while there were no other patrons in the department. Next I helped a father get information about the series his son is currently reading. He wanted to confirm what the most recent book was, and in addition to that, I was able to find the titles and release dates for the next two books, which he was very appreciative of. I know he has struggled with his son being a reluctant reader, so it was really nice to hear that his son had finally found something that he liked and motivated him to keep reading!
Of course there were the routine questions, parking validations, and check-outs, and I did a little storytime prep work as well. There were a couple of strange incidents. First, when the children's librarian can back from lunch she said some weird guy seemed to be following her and acting strangely and was now in the library. So we called security and she described what happened and pointed him out, and it turns out it was someone they were familiar with. They debated on whether to ask him to leave or just keep an eye on him, and I'm not sure what the final outcome was. This kind of thing happens from time to time and is just part of working downtown, but fortunately it doesn't happen that often and we are so fortunate to have a security team to look out for us and handle some of the more difficult situations!
Then after that I had to run a male patron out of the ladies' room. At first I thought he just wasn't paying attention, but when I went in and said "Excuse me sir, but this is the ladies' room" instead of being embarrassed and quickly leaving, he says "Oh, but I just needed to get my phone from her [his significant other]". Like that makes a difference?? I told him "I'm sorry, but you still can't go in the ladies' room". Another time, a co-worker had to go in to tell a man he couldn't be in there, and his excuse was because he had his young daughter with him. I can understand why he wouldn't want to take her to the men's room, but I don't know how he could think he could just waltz in the ladies' room! You'd think he'd ask a staff member first, not to mention we have a family restroom for that very reason! I just don't know what people are thinking sometimes...
And to end on a lighter note, the assistant manager told me to be sure and check out the new book sitting on the desk, which was Everyone Loves Bacon by Kelly Dipucchio. It starts out talking about how everyone likes bacon, how everyone was friends with him (except French Toast, but he doesn't like anyone), and how good he smelled. Then, his fame grew and he began to forget his friends, deciding fame and fans were better that friends. "Until....." .and you turn the page and there is an empty plate and fork, and it says "Everyone does love bacon". I thought it was cute and funny, and I'm sure the kindergarteners she's planning to read it to tomorrow will love it!
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