Life as a public librarian was never dull. During my time behind the reference desk, I compiled some of my favorite encounters in a short series, “Notes from Behind the Library Desk.” I hope you enjoy them as much (sometimes more) than I did.
As an twenty-something adult employed to work the library’s adult reference desk, I spend most of my day performing Google searches for people or explaining how to use __________ [the internet, email, printers, smartphones, teenagers, insert foreign technology here].
The following is an actual conversation with a 60-something man.
Man: Can I have the list of cheap places to live in Florida?
Me: I’m sorry?
Man: I’m moving to Florida. It’s too cold here.
Me: Yes, it can get a bit chilly.
Man: So how about you just give me a list of all the cheap places to live in Florida?
Me: Uh, well, Florida is a pretty big state. There’s not really a list. You might want to use some apartment finding websites, which I can show you on–
Man: You mean the library doesn’t have a list in a folder somewhere?
Me: Afraid not. We’ll just have to hope the internet can handle this question.