Seriously Folks, It Only Takes ONE

I wonder if it’s common for anyone in their chosen profession to watch someone else in the same field with trepidation. And when I say trepidation I mean fear. And when I say fear I mean an acute sensitivity.

Pre-Story information/philosophy:

I’m a new resident of Brighton. One of the first things I did upon moving was go to the library to get a library card. For some people, it’s internet or electricity. Me, I wanted to have a library card because that’s how I connect to a community. The library is the place where people can come to learn about what their neighborhood has to offer. The library is a space to see new things and meet new people. None of this can happen if librarians are barricaded behind the desk. I say all this because I believe in libraries. I think that much is plainly true. I go to library school. I work in a library. AND, AND, I don’t buy books on the principle that anything I want to read I should borrow from the library.

Actual Story:

So, coming back to the idea that people with the same or similar jobs are a little more sensitive when it comes to observing job performance, I walk into my public library. I am looking for a book by my beloved Shaun Tan.

“How do you SPELL that?!”

The question still rings in my ear. As I spent time talking to three different library employees, who looked at me like I had just interrupted their work on the next New York Times bestseller,  I began to realize how upset I was at my profession. HOW DARE YOU?! How dare you spit on the name of librarian by speaking to a patron in this manner? I kept thinking that THIS, THIS is why librarians have such a stereotypically terrible reputation. It only takes one, or in my case three, people who have no interest in helping a patron that makes people never want to enter a library again.

I told my colleagues at work and they shrugged it off and said I should just put things on hold from now on and go pick them up without having to bother anyone. While this is caving, and I don’t like to cave, I also need books. So I put some on hold. I found that I can’t get into my library because my work schedule perfectly conflicts with their hours of operation. Alright, it’s ok, I’ll send my husband to go pick up the books I need. Not acceptable. They won’t give him the books because he’s an honest man and admit’s that he’s not me but that I can’t come in because I’m at work.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask you, how is it a security risk to have my husband pick up my books for me?! I have entered into the land of shrill, but I think the larger issue is this: it only takes one. Truly, one bad apple can spoil the who experience. This is why I don’t eat fruits or vegetables and why I’m determined to wipe out the entire population of ludicrously evil librarians that don’t know who Shaun Tan is and insult me for not being able to navigate a library without a map and who won’t give my husband (with my library card) my books. And while THAT was the longest run-on sentence since Paul’s second letter to the Philippians, I rest my case.