I hate you.
The first question I asked the Senior Reference Desk supervisor at Simmons when I worked there was, "Do we get a lot of microfilm questions, because I can't for the life of me load the film correctly. " He assured me we didn't, but I would get a question at least once a week and was thus motivated to become a corporate librarian where microfilm machines are not usually present.
Yesterday, I got asked about the stapler. Having no aversion to trouble-shooting the stapler, I listened as this person told me that it's been empty for quite some time now, but we lacked the correct staples to load back into the stapler. This morning, he came by to tell me that he'd received notification that the staples had arrived, but now the stapler was missing. He walked away in frustration, and a few minutes later I saw someone stop by the work area long enough to drop off the missing stapler. A few more minutes go by and a third person comes by and takes the stapler again; however, in between the stapler being replaced and taken again I notified the guy who sits next to the original requester to let him know that stapler was back.
Why is the stapler constantly being removed? Is someone purposely trying to frustrate this one guy? Will he resort to using a large binder clip? Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!
10 comments:
My fear is that someone will ask me to send a fax. I'm never sure if I've put the paper in the right way, so the person on the other end could get nothing but blank pages.
Personally, I found your tale gripping. Of course, see my tale above and maybe my commendation won't seem so significant.
I had the same fax anxieties until someone pointed out to me that there's a small drawing of a piece of paper with a folded corner where you load the doc you want to fax. If there are squigglies on the drawing (to represent writing) then you load the doc writing side up.
I feel for this guy. He sounds like one diligent, kind, community minded guy who has been bedeviled by poor equipment, and less than helpful staff.
Can't you chain the stapler to the desk, like they do at the DMV?
It's an electric stapler- not sure that would lend itself to chaining it to the desk.
Is it a red Swingline stapler?
No, but I have one of those at my desk. :)
Those microfilm machines are the bane of my research existence. It's easier to read 4000 year old papyrus than the census records at the Mass. Archive with the projection machines. And the BPL newspaper collection looks more like a Rorschach test, with massive ink stains that blot out half the page. Evidently, they make the original copies back before quality control was invented.
Staplers are another matter. I'm surprised yours isn't locked down with a hardened cable like in most offices. Stapler borrowing is a crime against humanity, office-wise.
Wait, is the stappler in the copy machine or a separate machine? That would pretty funny if someone wheeled the copy machine away whenever they felt like it.
Argh, nothing worse than that microfilm machine. It's become a very occasional (read: once a year) question for me. When it happens, I accept that I will look like a fool as I try many times before successfully assisting the patron with the reel.
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