The good, the bad and…

The first thing I’m greeted with today is the news that a fan on the outside of the library has been damaged, and a piece of wood has damaged the roof. No one knows how this happened, or when. Also, out the back some old sofas and a table tennis table have been dumped, presumably by the Youth Centre next door.

I’m also told that the reason the padlock was missing last week was because my colleague had a burglary and his keys and laptop were taken (explaining H* bringing in the new laptop last week).

The same colleague comes in today to help with the Coding Club. However, today 2 volunteers come in, and they have everything in order and the kids are focussed and creative for the whole hour. It means my colleague isn’t needed. He doesn’t do anything to do with his usual duties, but works as a library assistant. There’s not enough for 3 of us to do by the time he comes in, although we are busy up till then. We are so busy up till then that S* and I walk into each other on our various ways to do something!

We also have the Bookchat group in. Somehow the urn is leaking and there’s no hot water for them, but S* takes them up a kettle. Their ‘leader’ demands a book list for reading groups. She says it’s kept behind the desk, but if so, no one’s ever mentioned it to me. S* says it’s on the Libraries West web site, but I don’t find it there. Instead I do a search and find 10 books listed for book groups, so I print that out and give it to her. At first she fusses that she’s used to several pages, but the others in the group all convince her that there are books on my list that they’d like to read, so I don’t get any more flustered by her demands.

We also have a couple of yummy mummies in, and while they are chatting, their offspring start running round the library, getting louder and louder. I’m about to tell them to stop but catch the mother’s eye, and ask her to stop them, in case they run into someone behind a shelf. They don’t pay any attention. I go and stand behind a shelf, perhaps to prove a point, and they finally stop — before any other customers start complaining! Ah!

Despite us closing up around him, our colleague appears not to notice it’s time to go home. Eventually S* tells me to go home and a few minutes later, as I’m driving past, I see them both standing outside, locking up. He’s annoyed me, but I’m determined to leave it behind.