Library Staff

I have recently switched jobs, still doing social work, and have been working a lot more than in my previous job. I work with a group of juveniles in a group home. This week we took the kids to the library to get in community service hours. It went well.

This is surprising to me because every single library staff or volunteer had some physical malady that was impossible not to notice. From the lady with short arms that bent the wrong way to the painfully skinny guy with a slight hunchback, from the guy with thick glasses and a misshapen head to the old guy who blurted out grunts and expletives as though he were dying with every effort he made, the whole group was a snapshot of the stereotypical high school chess club/dungeons and dragons geeks. I've been to many libraries and never noticed this about anyone, but now I can't help but wonder if the library technology career is a magnet for people of this like. I'm not bashing it, and it might make sense, but it was very bizarre.

And then for volunteering for them (it was a book fair we were setting up for), we all got to get a book for free. My choice was from the literary classics section, but I'll admit I chose it because it was on Oprah's Book Club. Then a lady who was supervising, hunched over her cane, came by asking us what we each got, and upon finding out my choice, proceeded to tell me how great it was and walked me through the story including a brief explanation of the ending. She thinks she's better than me. Needless to say, I was pissed.

In conclusion, my opinion of libraries in general has suffered greatly since starting a new job. Perhaps the juvenile delinquents are rubbing off on me, and this is the beginning of the danderous decline of John Duffy. We'll have to wait and see.