Peggy Noonan wrote an essay for the Wall Street Journal this March called "That's Not Nice". She said "We tie ourselves in knots trying to explain why it is, or why it isn't, always or occasionally, helpful or destructive to use various epithets, or give full voice to our resentments. But the simple wisdom of Grandma-- "That's not nice"--is a good guide." Her essay was actually a diatribe against political correctness and censorship but it struck a cord with me. I have noticed the past few months at the Library that more and more people are feeling free to be "not nice".
Just last week a patron asked if the Library had a particular book. We did not own it, so the librarian wrote up an order slip and informed this patron that he would get it as soon as it came in. His response to this kindness was to go off on a rant and declaim that the library was nothing but a sewer of left wing propaganda. I think "thank you" would have been a more appropriate response.
Another patron thought it would be appropriate to leave his socks, which smelled as though they had gotten a good year's worth of use without washing, in the Men's Room. Our poor custodian, who has seen more than his share of truly nasty messes left for us, cannot get rid of the horrible smell. If it's too nasty to throw away at your house, we don't want it either.
And then there are the cell phone users. And the people who yell at us because our computers aren't the latest, fastest models. And the people who snipe at us because we don't carry every tax form that exists, or the fact that they have to wait their turn for free tax help from our AARP volunteers. And the people who steal our CDs. And so on.
Fortunately, our days are brightened by the vast majority of patrons who come in exclaiming about the wonderful book they read. And the patrons who thank us for the help we gave them. And the patrons who tell us how much they like the bookmarks we make. And especially the patrons who tell us they love the library. Thank you all. Your Grandma would be proud.
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Yikes! It's too bad that you have to deal with patron behavior like that. It's hard to think that anyone would want to treat the staff and the library like that. The staff has always been so kind and helpful to my family and me. I hope the scary stories here are the exceeption and not the rule!!
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