Since I've recently decided that buying books is too expensive I have been frequenting the library.
My first trip was to the Farmington Library which was like a trip back in time.
Now don't let me fool you into thinking I've ever used the library enough to have memories of it, but it's like the air in there hasn't even been recirculated in 30 years. I'm sure it is the same air I breathed on my very few trips there in junior high school. It is totally...RETRO. They could probably sell all the tables and chairs for a good sum of money now days, because you can't find that stuff anywhere else. The smell of dust and mold and paper is so overwhelming it makes me want to run for the door and gasp in fresh air, hold my breath, grab a book and then run for the front door.Now we have the nice new Centerville Library.
It's, well new with great architecture and stained glass and a fun kids area and no books. Yup, they have no books. You have to wait for anything you want to be transferred from another branch. At least this is my experience because anything I want they don't have.This would be a problem if I even knew how to find a book in the first place. This brings me to my point. Am I just a complete idiot or maybe I missed that class in, geez probably Elementary School, where they teach you the Dewey Decimal system. I don't recall ever understanding it. The very few trips I was forced to take in my school years went like this. I would look the book up on the computer, write down everything on the screen and then ask the lady at the front desk to locate it for me. Now, Magazine, I can find those. So the same problem exists today. Only now, my kids want to check out books. Crap!
Jena wants a book about Princesses and Ryan wants Star Wars, this never changes, it is the same request every trip to the library we take. I have stopped even trying to use the computer, we just wander the isle hoping something will pop out at us. See, some books are in Alphabetical Order by title, some by authors last name, some by some crazy numbering system, how are you suppose to know the difference? I have looked up books and they give you 2 different numbers. I've tried to find both and...you can guess, no luck. I can't even imagine using the old card file system.
I have a plan. See I need a new book and I'm going to ask the nice little lady to give my children a lesson on how to find books at the library and then I will secretly learn along with them!
Or the best method, I will reserve it online and pick it up at the front desk.
3 Reactions:
Oh I LOVE your plan! Learn with the kids! Great idea! I never understood the Dewey system either and so whenever a report of some sort was due I had nothing but anxiety knowing I was going to have to go find a book at the library. Horrible, horrible system. I have not been to the library for a while but assumed the Dewey was gone and had been replaced by some high tech advanced way of finding your book. I guess maybe I was wrong.
Don't bother the librarian I will give you a quick lesson. Fiction (not true) is sorted by authors last name. Non-fiction (true) is located by a number. However, I find the library to be difficult as well. It might say that it is check-in but it is not on the shelf. Now that I think of it you should ask the librarian that is what they went to school for. Did you know you have to have a bachelors degree to be a librarian. I wonder what else they do other than shelve books.
you just know the craziest things torilyn. honestly, who knows that about fiction/non-fiction?
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