Today I have learned

· That we don't have cardboard recycling bags, only plastic ones

· That people can read Which magazine for a scary amount of time

· That Gregory Peck inspired passion in the hearts of women in To Kill a Mockingbird – one lady said she'd always worried about when he died, because she didn't know what she'd do with herself when he did

Life Story

Asked about microfilm & how far back the Essex Chronicle went, so she could get a photo & her marriage announcement because her husband died recently. Then proceeded to tell me her entire life story and how she refuses to go to doctors and is wary of medical people :S

feet

Customer (looking down): Oh wow, I love your feet, they're so pretty!

Me (thinking she means my sparkly blue flip flops): thank you, they were from Marks & Spencer at the beginning of this summer

Customer: Do you know, I think I'd like to do some sort of exhibition with your feet in – I could just take a photo of them! I always take photos of feet.

Me: riiiight. Is there anything else the library can do for you today?

"I won't ask for print outs today, dear"

"because they're rather, ahem, explicit."

This customer, who usually asks for addresses of film companies, then proceeded to request the details of a film company and a magazine that specialise, as far as I could make out from the limited access the filter gave us, in gay & lesbian porn...

Some people apparently lack the embarrassment gene.

all the fun

I missed all the fun yesterday... some bloke came in, threw our coffee table in the air, knocked over our booksale tables (complete with lots of books) and then karate kicked our new, shiny, electric sign. Our panic button failed but both security and police apparently turned up in the end.

Fortunately it was nothing to do with the service we'd given, but some sort of domestic incident and the police are going to try to catch up with him.

Whoever said library work was boring?!

it makes you think

This morning someone came in asking if she could find out which, if any, books were on her uncle's card, and how much he owed so that she could pay it off or pay the cost of replacement. Due to Data Protection, we're not allowed to give this information out - but the reason she wanted it is because her uncle is in a coma, and if he comes round they want him to have minimal things to worry about.

In her situation the last thing I'd be concerned about would be library books - incidents like that really make you think about the things you whinge about on a daily basis. Nothing in the day to day reality of work life is really that bad, is it?

183184

Me: Hi, can I help you there?
Man: Yep, 183184?
Me: *puzzled stare*
Man: You know... philosophy? 183184!!

With hindsight, he was obviously looking for philosophy and more specifically Plato, which are shelved under Dewey numbers 183 to 184. However, as he barked the number out at speed, it sounded like a phone number or reference number and confused me no end!