A Day at Bay Terrace

A customer called to request The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Too bad, because the customer service supervisor wanted to read it. The customer lost her library card but doesn't want to get a new one; she wants to use her New York Public Library Card. She was told that with the new RFID system this cannot do this. She sounded pouty. If she can't use her NYPL card, she doesn't want the book. Hey, if you're going to play the game, you've got to follow the rules.

A customer who didn't have her library card number or the bar code number called to renew a book. I had to use her name to find her borrower record.

A customer came in to request The Linnet Bird for a friend who was with her. "And I put some eye cream in your bag," the friend said. "It helps with the puffiness." "You're gonna love it. You're gonna love it," the said. "You know Linda? She read it in three days. Three days. She couldn't put it down." The customer didn't know how to spell "linnet," and neither did I. I looked it up on the Barnes & Noble website, which is more forgiving than DRA. "Oh thanks, the friend said. "I'll just buy it."

Did a stint in the children's room this afternoon. After school three Asian boys came running in to play geography computer games. A boy asked for a book on science projects. Another asked for books on sound and light waves. A girl asked for two pencils with erasers. It must be that is is so quiet because it's such a beautiful day.

I made my first cultural gaffe and got my first exposure to the underside of life at Bay Terrace today. I asked another employee, who was born in Korea, if she were Chinese, and I was warned by one of the pages to keep my eye on a customer and to make sure he stayed away from children because he is suspected of being a pedofile.

A customer asked where the reference librarian was. I told him she was in training. "Why does she need training," he asked, "she's been here 25 years."