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JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



As the OP of this thread, I just wanna say...

This started as "Haha funny/horrifying library stories". Now thanks to the 'rona, things have gotten darker. I welcome anyone needing to vent about how poo poo has changed this year. A safe space for the lieberry crowd; I dont think we have such a thread here.

My heart goes out to all my library brothers/sisters/others. I know I miss having libraries (we're still not open in my county), and I for one appreciate all y'all still working in these conditions. And my sympathy for those who lost their jobs.

Stay strong, and please feel free to use this space to vent your spleen.

And when my husband gets home, I'm gonna post a pic of my old library's gang sign (it takes 2 hands so I can't really do a selfie)

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I brought my Drake
Jul 10, 2014

These high-G injections have some serious side effects after pulling so many jumps.

I was hoping you were among the folks adjust hired. :(

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

I guess I can count myself pretty lucky, we're open more or less as usual, albeit with some restrictions: opening hours reduced by half, strict maximum of visitors at any one time, masks and disinfectant and so on. Not a public library, and also not in the US, those might both help. Incidentally, we've never been at full capacity.

We're providing disinfectant wipes for visitors and accidentally sent one poor girl into a panic attack when she had a bad skin reaction from what turned out to be fairly heavy duty hydrogen peroxide wipes meant for medical equipment. Whoopsie!

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

Been a while, what's shaking in all your libraries?

I've landed the job of making a short video about ours to show to new students in the new term, cause we can't very well give huge guided tours anymore. At my last job I also did videos a bit, and dug up a little known university department that lent out A/V equipment where I got a little handheld camcorder and access to a computer pool where they had Premiere installed. I figured this university would have a similar place, which it does, and the equipment would be along the same lines too.

they handed me a fuckoff huge camera and approximately all the auxilliary equipment in the world and also the keys to a full blown editing room with three huge displays and professional monitor speakers. This university has a dedicated art and media faculty. They have a TV studio. I wasn't thinking about this at all. I had to liberate a cart from somewhere so I wouldn't have to lug around all this stuff every day. It's glorious and exactly my poo poo.

... video so far does look a bit amateurish with static angles if I'm being entirely honest with myself but considering I'm getting no aid whatsoever I'm probably doing good and maybe I can jazz it up in the edit.

Lead out in cuffs
Sep 18, 2012

"That's right. We've evolved."

"I can see that. Cool mutations."




My Lovely Horse posted:

Been a while, what's shaking in all your libraries?

I've landed the job of making a short video about ours to show to new students in the new term, cause we can't very well give huge guided tours anymore. At my last job I also did videos a bit, and dug up a little known university department that lent out A/V equipment where I got a little handheld camcorder and access to a computer pool where they had Premiere installed. I figured this university would have a similar place, which it does, and the equipment would be along the same lines too.

they handed me a fuckoff huge camera and approximately all the auxilliary equipment in the world and also the keys to a full blown editing room with three huge displays and professional monitor speakers. This university has a dedicated art and media faculty. They have a TV studio. I wasn't thinking about this at all. I had to liberate a cart from somewhere so I wouldn't have to lug around all this stuff every day. It's glorious and exactly my poo poo.

... video so far does look a bit amateurish with static angles if I'm being entirely honest with myself but considering I'm getting no aid whatsoever I'm probably doing good and maybe I can jazz it up in the edit.

My dad used to run the A/V department at the local university, and I think a big part of why he took that job* was so he could set up his own TV studio. Glad you're having fun with it!


*There was also the perk of getting free tuition for immediate family, which may have played a role. Between myself, my brothers and my mom I think we racked up about 21 years of free university education.

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

Lead out in cuffs posted:

Glad you're having fun with it!
I'm doing the vid bilingual, I have six scenes, and while editing the final version (and crucially after I'd returned the equipment) I realized I'd completely forgotten to record an overdub for one. Like not even at one point thought of it, just, not to put too fine a point onto it, pulled a complete blank on the basic structure of something I'd watched a hundred times over the last two weeks. Wasn't even mad, just chuckled and thought "good thing I have recording stuff at home too" and that it was probably high time I got out of the editing basement

I have also jazzed it up, in case you were wondering.

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



That sounds super cool, Horse! Glad you're making the most of this sucky situation.

We're still being cautious in my area; libraries are still curbside pickup only. I was in the next town over recently for an errand and saw I was parked right by their library, so I walked over to see what their deal was. Same thing, but what piqued my interest was their huge window displays. I guess now that windows aren't needed to let light in for reading/ambience, they went buckwild covering them in book jackets & posters advertising the curbside pickup, stuff on their website, e-book services, etc.

Also the drive thru and attached bookdrops had big signs saying essentially "for the love of Pete these are for library materials only, stop giving us donations!!!"

On that note, the Little Free Libraries around here are thriving, and I wish I could set one up somewhere. I finally got back to work in a restaurant, so I'm only semi-homeless --- living in a cheap weekly motel.

It'd be interesting to set one up here, given most of my neighbors are kinda what you'd expect: sex workers, day laborers, ex-cons, addicts/dealers of all stripes, just folks down on their luck like me. I'd love to start a LFL with books on job hunting, legal matters, hell, even cookbooks on 101 things you can do with a microwave and mini fridge. (Have seriously considered writing a book on that last one)

the escape goat
Apr 16, 2008

What a week it's been.
So much to talk about.
And so many things we can't talk about.

...do weird things often go into the drop boxes?

https://twitter.com/libraryseaside/status/1324137105933529088?s=21

ante
Apr 9, 2005

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS
Only on occasion, as a treat

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

We're planning to set up a drop box now and it's gonna have an RFID reader in the flap so it just opens for our items. In theory.

The students are flocking. And since we're more or less the only university department open to the public, they're flocking to us. My city was doing very well for infection numbers for a while, at stable single digits or even zero for weeks at a time, now it's not. Could get a bit dicey, but on the plus side, we've got all the stuff still in place to go back to one of our earlier stages if we need to.

Kusaru
Dec 20, 2006


I'm a Bro-ny!
We have RFID tags on our items and the return slot reads them, but because we do a lot of ILLs and our consortium members don’t all use the same tags we ended up making it so if someone tries to put an unreadable item through twice it will take it. We only occasionally end up with weird stuff, the most recent being a couple of railroad spikes.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Yes.

At the universities I worked at, it was a common prank.

Public libraries, some people just used them as a garbage disposal.

And every county library system I've visited has had a story of a kitten being shoved in one. Who is of course promptly adopted by the library staff as a library cat and named Dewey because it's apparently required by the ALA.

Fleta Mcgurn
Oct 5, 2003

Porpoise noise continues.

Cythereal posted:

Yes.

At the universities I worked at, it was a common prank.

Public libraries, some people just used them as a garbage disposal.

And every county library system I've visited has had a story of a kitten being shoved in one. Who is of course promptly adopted by the library staff as a library cat and named Dewey because it's apparently required by the ALA.

That did actually happen at the library in my hometown! (Here's a link to the museum 'cause they got a mummy and it loving owns.) Dewey is long gone by now, sadly.

I had no idea pickles were a common thing to stick in drop boxes. I guess they just shrivel up, and don't rot, so it's...well, nicer than sticking a regular cucumber in, I guess.

Halloween Jack
Sep 12, 2003

La morte non ha sesso
My library prank is when I haul 150 pounds of books to the library, and it's closed because the AC is out, so I cram the book drop full and haul 125 pounds of books back to my office.

I brought my Drake
Jul 10, 2014

These high-G injections have some serious side effects after pulling so many jumps.

One of the places I used to work, kids kept putting mulch from the flower beds into the book drop and their solution was to redo the landscaping to take out the mulch. Then the kids started putting other crap in the book drop. It's not like they didn't have security cameras outside--I guess putting one next to the book drop would be too much of a hassle unlike ripping out the flower beds.

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

Halloween Jack posted:

My library prank is when I haul 150 pounds of books to the library, and it's closed because the AC is out, so I cram the book drop full and haul 125 pounds of books back to my office.
Then you get a reminder and fines for 125 pounds of books. Pranked right back!

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



queserasera posted:

One of the places I used to work, kids kept putting mulch from the flower beds into the book drop and their solution was to redo the landscaping to take out the mulch. Then the kids started putting other crap in the book drop. It's not like they didn't have security cameras outside--I guess putting one next to the book drop would be too much of a hassle unlike ripping out the flower beds.

We also had mulch-in-the-drop pranksters! I guess it's... comforting? to know it wasnt just us.

The two weirdest items I recall getting during my circ days were a used diaper (ewwww) and a circular saw blade (WTF).

Halloween Jack
Sep 12, 2003

La morte non ha sesso

My Lovely Horse posted:

Then you get a reminder and fines for 125 pounds of books. Pranked right back!
I wouldn't be hauling this many books if professors had to pay late fees

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



JacquelineDempsey posted:

and a circular saw blade (WTF).

“Hmm, this is long and skinny, and the slot is long and skinny, I wonder if it would fit...”

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



Midjack posted:

“Hmm, this is long and skinny, and the slot is long and skinny, I wonder if it would fit...”

Never put this together but... circulation materials. Circular saw blade. Sure, why not?

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



JacquelineDempsey posted:

Never put this together but... circulation materials. Circular saw blade. Sure, why not?

Alternately, someone who had one of those razor blade disposal slots in their bathroom medicine cabinet at home and thought this was just a bigger version for bigger blades.

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



Midjack posted:

Alternately, someone who had one of those razor blade disposal slots in their bathroom medicine cabinet at home and thought this was just a bigger version for bigger blades.

Ha! As a kid I used to live in an old house with one of those. After i asked mom what it was and she told me, naturally my next question was "well, where do they go?"
"Just between the walls of the house, I guess."
"So, like, if you had to fix the house by tearing the wall open, thered just be all these razor blades?"
"I guess so, honey"

This disturbed yet intrigued me. I was (still am) fascinated by things like Egyptian tombs, secret rooms with hidden treasure --- hell, we were on vacation when Geraldo did that live opening of Al Capone's vault, and I demanded to stay in the motel room to watch it instead of going to the pool, lol.

So I started slipping little drawings and notes into the slot, for future contractors/archeologists to find. One day a plumber is gonna find a pile of razor blades and some goofy pictures of dragons and notes saying "be careful!" and "hello from 1982" and such.

number 1 snake fan
Jul 16, 2018

JacquelineDempsey posted:


So I started slipping little drawings and notes into the slot, for future contractors/archeologists to find. One day a plumber is gonna find a pile of razor blades and some goofy pictures of dragons and notes saying "be careful!" and "hello from 1982" and such.

This is so cute :3:

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



JacquelineDempsey posted:

Ha! As a kid I used to live in an old house with one of those. After i asked mom what it was and she told me, naturally my next question was "well, where do they go?"
"Just between the walls of the house, I guess."
"So, like, if you had to fix the house by tearing the wall open, thered just be all these razor blades?"
"I guess so, honey"

This disturbed yet intrigued me. I was (still am) fascinated by things like Egyptian tombs, secret rooms with hidden treasure --- hell, we were on vacation when Geraldo did that live opening of Al Capone's vault, and I demanded to stay in the motel room to watch it instead of going to the pool, lol.

So I started slipping little drawings and notes into the slot, for future contractors/archeologists to find. One day a plumber is gonna find a pile of razor blades and some goofy pictures of dragons and notes saying "be careful!" and "hello from 1982" and such.

:3:

vortmax
Sep 24, 2008

In meteorology, vorticity often refers to a measurement of the spin of horizontally flowing air about a vertical axis.

JacquelineDempsey posted:

On that note, the Little Free Libraries around here are thriving, and I wish I could set one up somewhere. I finally got back to work in a restaurant, so I'm only semi-homeless --- living in a cheap weekly motel.

It'd be interesting to set one up here, given most of my neighbors are kinda what you'd expect: sex workers, day laborers, ex-cons, addicts/dealers of all stripes, just folks down on their luck like me. I'd love to start a LFL with books on job hunting, legal matters, hell, even cookbooks on 101 things you can do with a microwave and mini fridge. (Have seriously considered writing a book on that last one)

Since the major newspaper around here has basically quit printing paper copies, I got them to donate a machine outside of the laundromat where I work for a LFL. I still need to repaint it, but it's got an official plaque and so far it's seen a lot of use!

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



vortmax posted:

Since the major newspaper around here has basically quit printing paper copies, I got them to donate a machine outside of the laundromat where I work for a LFL. I still need to repaint it, but it's got an official plaque and so far it's seen a lot of use!

That's super awesome! And a laundromat is a great place to have one, people are sitting around doing nothing, so having a book to read is great. (I dunno about yours, but my laundromat had a TV and chairs, but they took them out thanks to the covid, so your options are the benches outside or sitting in your car, if you have one.)

Take a picture and share it, if you like!

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



Necro-ing my own thread to post this, from the #blessed pics thread:




...and also to check in on my library peeps. How's everyone doing? Still nothing but curbside here, though the apartment I just moved into around Thanksgiving has a LFL the next block over.
Been enjoying Da Capo Best Music Writing 2003, thanks to some cool anonymous person. I loving love LFLs! Hope someone enjoys the book on black holes I donated.

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

We went back to pickups/dropoffs only in December, shortly before closing over Christmas. Right now I'm on holiday and kinda not looking forward to returning next week. I imagine neither are our students, who are caught between a "return to physical campus" policy from Summer and the new "holy poo poo stay online" policy. We're also planning to get our entire reception area rebuilt from the ground up in April which would be a huge disruption under the best of circumstances so I'm wishing us good luck there.

incidentally I went back over my posts and caught something about dedicated library A/V person being basically my ideal job, and I'm happy to report I'm kind of worming my way into it :v: Less in terms of live events and more video production but I've got some stuff going, tentatively.

Congrats on the apartment!

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

Over in the comic strip thread in BSS the strip Dustin has an arc going where Dustin works in a library, and I'm doing big old effort posts on the background of what they show. It's famously a lovely boomer humor strip so I'm hoping to catch it out being particularly idiotic or inaccurate but I'm trying to stay fair and so far it's been infuriatingly reasonable.

Dick Trauma
Nov 30, 2007

God damn it, you've got to be kind.
I worked at my local library when I was in high school and the only patron I can still remember is the man who would stand for hours at the paperback book racks, just spinning them, and then from time to time he would loudly exclaim "sssssSSSSSSUCK MY COCK!" and then dash for the front doors.

DerekSmartymans
Feb 14, 2005

The
Copacetic
Ascetic

Dick Trauma posted:

I worked at my local library when I was in high school and the only patron I can still remember is the man who would stand for hours at the paperback book racks, just spinning them, and then from time to time he would loudly exclaim "sssssSSSSSSUCK MY COCK!" and then dash for the front doors.

:hmmyes:

Inceltown
Aug 6, 2019

Dick Trauma posted:

I worked at my local library when I was in high school and the only patron I can still remember is the man who would stand for hours at the paperback book racks, just spinning them, and then from time to time he would loudly exclaim "sssssSSSSSSUCK MY COCK!" and then dash for the front doors.

Nice to know someone remembers me

Inceltown
Aug 6, 2019

Not exactly library related but also insanely likely to be this threads jam.

https://twitter.com/dancohen/status/1350831682350415872

DeadFatDuckFat
Oct 29, 2012

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.


It showed me a folding circumcision knife from early 19th century Nigeria. I think I'm done after that lol

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

quote:

0.4 inch composition punches for Walbaum (typeface series number: 374), font size 14D. In an original wooden box and no suffix relating to the typeface is marked. Manufactured by Monotype Corporation.

As well as manufacturing machines that composed and cast type, The Monotype Corporation produced matrices for hundreds of different designs of typefaces in metal during the twentieth century. The user of a Monotype machine could cast as much fresh type as they needed from a set of matrices. Eighty-two successive operations, including inspections through microscopes, were required to produce every perfect Monotype composition matrix. Patterns and punches were the artefacts that Monotype created and preserved during the process in order to be able to make matrices on demand for their customers.

A Monotype punch is made by tracing a pattern on a vertical pantograph machine. It is an engraved piece of hardened steel of a reverse-reading type character (letter, numeral or ornament) in relief from which the matrices are made. After cutting, the face of the punch was ground to the correct measurements denoted on the relevant chart. The punch was stamped into a piece of phosphor bronze that made a matrix from which type could be cast. Punches were made in standard sizes: 0.2" x 0.2", 0.4" x 0.4", 1" x 1", or 1" x 1.35". If a Monotype punch became damaged it could be replaced, identically, using the pattern.

Patterns, punches and matrices were very valuable to the company and were kept in strong rooms at the Monotype factory in Surrey. Composition matrices were made from a remarkable collection of typefaces there between 1900 and 1995. It included historical revivals such as Plantin, traditional typefounders’ designs such as Goudy Old Style, and original Monotype designs such as Albertus. The Monotype Collection, comprising of all the materials and machinery necessary to produce composition matrices, was moved and installed at The Type Archive in 1995. Matrices are still produced in 2020 for the remaining Monotype customers around the world.

Actually unbelievably relevant for my particular library :v:

DACK FAYDEN
Feb 25, 2013

Bear Witness

DeadFatDuckFat posted:

It showed me a folding circumcision knife from early 19th century Nigeria. I think I'm done after that lol
I got a solid bronze priapic amuletic pendant. Do they just not keep viewing numbers for all penis-themed objects?

Shellception
Oct 12, 2016

Mountains rise and fall, and under them the Turtle swims onward. Men live and die, and the Turtle Moves. Empires grow and crumble, and the Turtle Moves. Gods come and go, and still the Turtle Moves.

The Turtle Moves.
I got an anchor (well, a scale model of one, anyway) and what looked to me like an old radio transistor. Woulda preferred penises tbh. I am going to spin it again from this thread's link, see if it improves.

EDIT: uhhhh ok no penises butt... butt. A definite SA energy from this one lol.
Enema syringe accesories, cased.

Shellception fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jan 18, 2021

Cessna
Feb 20, 2013

KHABAHBLOOOM

DeadFatDuckFat posted:

It showed me a folding circumcision knife from early 19th century Nigeria. I think I'm done after that lol

I got "Sheffield plate reservoir enema syringe, piston-ac." I think I'll pass on a second look.

My Lovely Horse
Aug 21, 2010

gonna do five in a row plus one I remember from the other day

Plastic thing to cover cables on the floor from 1970 that obviously hasn't been unrolled in 40 years. They're just raiding old janitor storages for their exhibits now :v:

Photo of subterranean conduits being laid in the 1910's
I have read the whole description and I have no idea what this possibly is
"Photo of unidentified man" that clearly shows a couple unless this is where the ghost movie plot starts
Test tube
I think these are the same conduit folks from the first one

starting to think there's mostly a reason no one looks at these or maybe the collection is tapped out by now

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Jedit
Dec 10, 2011

Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014


It's what it says it is. Specifically, an interchangeable bit for a mechanical screwdriver. Which is the same as a modern electrical screwdriver except it would have a crank handle instead of a button to make the head turn. You just don't recognise it because nobody uses fork head screws any more.

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