Secrets of the Library

Most of these should not be considered secrets- many of them are common sense and simply seem to be ignored. Painfully ignored.

That's why I'm going to clue you guys in on some things about dear old Carl B. Library:

* When the lights start turning off, it is a good idea to leave (or at least begin preparing for leaving).
I don't know why you'd want to be in the library when it's dark anyway. It creeps me out and I've practically lived there for three years.


* When saving a document, it is a good idea to save it to your X-drive like all the signs say to.
This will save you emotional pain caused by losing your 14-page paper that is due at 4:30 the following day and has been reduced to a 2.5-page lump of obscenities.This also saves me from becoming the enemy- I'm sorry we have Deep Freeze, but what ITS wants ITS gets.


* When scanning- you push button number 3.

That's what the sign says. That's what the background of the computer says. We made the signs pretty so you would look at them and notice the words. Words are meant to be read.


* When searching for a book/CD/DVD/record/periodical, there is this handy bit of information that says "Collection."
This is where to find this item in the library! When you tell me you cannot find the item you're looking for, know that I will be upset if you tell me you have the right collection and I go to the fourth floor only to find out that it's actually a reference book back on first floor.


* When we tell you that an item is due at a certain time, we mean it.
Really, there's no excuse for this one. If I tell you a laptop needs to be back by 11:30 or you will be fined and you bring it back at 11:53 saying that you "lost track of time," believe me when I say that I will take great pleasure in assessing you the ridiculous fine that comes with being that late.


* Just do your work!
I cannot tell you how many times people come up to students after 10pm and ask for help on their research paper that needs 15 sources (where 3 have to be primary sources, 2 significant primary sources, 5 can be online, and one must be a book, the remaining 6 can be anything so long as its not Wikipedia) and is due the next day and all they have at that point is, in fact, Wikipedia.

Reference librarians are there until 10. And if you ask them to help you with anything like what I just described, they will stare blankly and blink (and if you're lucky enough for one of them to be sick- they may actually tell you how screwed you really are).

This isn't just research questions either. Don't bring up a stack of 15 DVDs for your Monster Movie Mash-up party at 11:58 and expect Happy Library Lucy (I originally wrote Lisa here but there is a happy librarian named Lisa at Carl B.- she's awesome).


* Be nice to the workers.
This should be ridiculously simple. Like any service industry, we have to put up with crap all the time. Make our days better by being courteous and we will be infinitely nicer to you. Or, at least, I will be. I keep a point tally- the easier you make it for me one time, the nicer I am to you the next.


* Candy and small children are a permanent "In"
Seriously, bring any form of these two things and the whole staff will love you.


* You need your library card to check things out.
It's why we have them. So we can actually keep proper track of items. We all have a little OCD- don't upset this condition!


Thanks for reading. Follow these rules and we'll get along fine!