D I S P A T C H E S F R O M
A P U B L I C L I B R A R I A N
BY SCOTT DOUGLAS
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Dispatch 2 (1/5/04)
Patron of the Week
It always surprises people to know that patrons frequently verbally, and sometimes physically,
assault librarians. This week's memorable patron was the man who said he'd be waiting for me after
work. The man came in on a Saturday to use the Internet. He was middle-aged, tired, but seemingly
friendly at first. I assigned him a computer on the other side of the library. Saturdays are usually
slow and quiet at the library where I work, and usually I pass time by studying the palm of my hand
from different angles. Things got a little loud, however, when the man I had assigned to the Internet
began yelling into his cell phone (as a side note, if anyone has ever been asked to turn their cell
phone off in the library, it is because many people, while normally quiet in regular conversation,
get quite loud when on the phone). I approached the man and I explained that it was library policy
that cell phones remain off in the library, and if he wanted to continue his conversation, he'd have
to use the phone outside. The man, clearly upset that I had so rudely interrupted his phone call,
explained that he was talking with an important Sprint PCS customer service agent regarding his
most recent billing statement, and that he needed the Internet to access his bill. Before I could
respond, the man turned and went back to his phone conversation, explaining to the costumer service
agent that he was sorry but an "idiot librarian" had tried to end his call. No librarian likes to
have his or her authority as librarian undermined. It's not a power issue, rather a simple fact that
policy has been disturbed and you don't mess with library policy and get away with it. Nonetheless,
I was in a good mood, so I walked around the man (so as to face him), and I asked him if he'd consider
talking in a quiet-like fashion and finishing the call quickly. He said he'd finish the call when he
was done talking and not a minute sooner. I turned off his computer and asked him to leave; and
that's when he stood (and also when I realized he was quite tall) and screamed, "you want to see loud" in a fashion that made everyone in the library turn around and look at the man a little frightened. I didn't think he meant it as a question, so I decided not to answer him, which only made him louder as he asked, "Who do you think you are?" I knew at this point that the situation was quickly getting complicated, and to make matters worse the man really did not have very good breath. I told the man he was being disruptive and he needed to leave the library. I knew he wasn't going to go out without further fuss, but I still hoped. I returned to the reference desk, and the man of course followed. He asked for my name, and when I gave it, he said he was going to go see the mayor and have my job. He started to leave, but turned back around after only a few steps, and said he would be waiting for me after work and I was going to be sorry. Finally, he left, at which point one of the library volunteers (a high school kid) approached me and said, "that was awesome, I thought he was going to jack you up right in the library!" Later that day I received a call from another librarian at the city's main library asking if I had had any problems that day with a patron. I said yes, and asked the librarian why. He said the man had come into the main library and filed a complaint against me. I asked if he mentioned coming back after I got off work to beat me up. He had forgotten to mention that. After work, I approached the parking lot with a bit of caution, but the man was not there, nor have I seen him since that Saturday.
Book Drop
The strangest item in the book drop this week was an unlit firecracker. Patrons putting firecrackers in the library overnight book drop does not happen as often as some people imagine. This is only the second time I've seen one (although it was the first time I had seen one unlit). The first one destroyed seven books and damaged over a dozen others.
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