ope...a life / library.1
I upset a patron the other day. A teen with their mother. They were all over the nonfiction section, occasionally stopping to look at the catalog on their phone, finding then pulling book after book. After awhile they'd amassed a sizable pile to lug around.
They didn't seem to need my help and I was happy not to give it.
A bit later they walked up to my desk and said they couldn't find one. I asked for the title. The patron told me, and as I typed it into my search they said, "I have it right here." I looked up. They were holding their phone out to me. There it was, the book in our catalog.
"Fantastic," I said. I turned back to my computer, turned the screen so they could see it, and continued searching.
"But I have it right here," they said.
I looked up, smiled, and told them I had access to a slightly different catalog.
Cue betrayal face.
I pointed to the screen to show them when the book had last been checked in (today) and told them it was probably over in circ waiting to hop on one of the shelving carts. Said they should give me a couple moments and I'd go check.
As I got up from the desk, the patron looked at their mother and said, "that's cheating." Mom smiled sympathetically.
I found the book and handed it to the patron. The look they gave me makes me fear I may have just started them on their villain arc.