Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.

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Thursday, December 10th, 2009
library_mofo [ iunnrais ]	10:03p	Bodily fluids Had a doozy today... Young man comes in and asks if he can add internet access to his account, as his mother didn't fill out that particular form when she got him his card. I check his account, note that he's since turned 18 and therefore needs to update his record, and get him the appropriate paperwork to fill out. As I'm handing it to him, I notice a Yoohoo bottle with pink label, no lid, and about 1/4 or less full of pinkish liquid. I explain that we don't allow food or drink in the library, and ask that he take his beverage out to the lobby to finish it. "Oh, that's not a drink...that's my spit bottle." Cringing internally, I repeat my request that he take it outside, away from the books and computers, as it is an open container with liquid and thus not permitted. He seems astonished that I would ask such a thing, makes no effort to act on the request, and instead continues merrily filling out his new application, pausing every couple of lines to add to the contents of the bottle. Seriously, dude? I just got done explaining that we don't allow food or drink, because of the hazard to our books and computer equipment. We don't want to deal with potential damage if someone were to spill a freshly-opened bottle of drinking water, what the HELL makes you think we want to clean up your nasty pink saliva? *shudder* Oh, yeah...and they're conducting interviews today, so the system director and main-branch head were both visiting. The good news? The people being interviewed are to replace me. One and a half more weeks of work til I'm free! Current Mood: disgusted (13 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ snowydragon1776 ]	3:42p	Job Hunting I am almost to the point of giving up getting a job in the field I just went into debt to work in. Why don't employers at least give you an interview or call your references? At this rate I'm going to have to join the miltiary to be able to pay my student loans. (35 Comments |Comment on this)
news [ theljstaff ]	2:49p	LiveJournal Major Notes: Notification fix, Snowflake cookie avalanche, LJLimerick, holiday vgifts! Tweaks and enhancements As a number of you reported, a service interruption impaired sending and receiving notifications for a couple of days. This was due to an avalanche of snowflake cookies. We've removed the free snowflake cookie and unclogged the pipeline. Timely notifications should resume shortly. Please note that there's a backlog in our queues, so you'll be getting earlier notifications first. For more details, check out this post at lj_maintenance. In anticipation of the new year, we've embarked on a self-improvement kick to boost our backend (pun semi-intended). This will allow us to offer you a holiday promotion in the next few weeks (yes, we're listening and working very hard to make it happen). We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and support. Holiday vgifts are here! We've added some fantastic new vgifts to help you spread holiday cheer. We also hope you'll honor AIDS Awareness Month by purchasing virtual red ribbons. Priced at $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine. Introducing: LJLimericks We cordially here do invite you To craft a fine limerick. Might you? Each week, a new theme, Then a poll, that's our dream Winner posted on news to delight you! In honor of all the brilliant writers on LiveJournal, we've created a brand new community: ljlimericks! Each week, we'll enter a handful of limericks into a poll (which we'll tuck snugly under an LJ-Cut). The winning poem will be published in the following newsletter. In addition, the author will receive a virtual blue ribbon! If you have the time, come drop us a rhyme. Please keep the "Nantucket" stuff on the downlow, since this is a youth-friendly community. Our first prompt is: Insomnia in winter. Photos of the week We're back with more incredible images from our global photography community. Congratulations to sempre_marseeya, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our second lj_photophile poll. We hate to squelch your creativity, but, as a courtesy to other users, please post only one photo at a time and keep the main photo no larger than 350x350 (so images display properly via mobile and on friends pages). You can link to a larger image and/or post photos under a cut. Just so you know, we select photos for the poll blindly, based on user comments and staff feedback. Please continue to vote, comment, and, of course, enjoy. You can check out the week in pictures and view more awesome user content after the jump! ( Read more... ) Curtains Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay warm and safe out there! (388 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ pomoskepticism ]	4:33p	Librarians: we know all about you... Maybe it was a freak accident, but maybe this person really does use their intra-uterine contraceptive device as a bookmark... (11 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ pomoskepticism ]	1:56p	First post, certainly not the first (nor last) mofo Howdy folks. It's as cold a witch's teet here, so what better way to spend my time indoors than typing out my first entry? I am a current MSLIS student; library work is the only work I know. I started working in tech services (gov docs and serials) at my college library in...you guessed it, college, and now I work as a circulation clerk in a relatively large public library in a very, VERY diverse suburban neighborhood. For every ten non-English speaking patrons I meet, there is one English-as-first-language patron who complains about "All the dang foreigners who can't be bothered to learn English!" Anywho, here are some recent gems: - A patron asks me, "Is this French movie in English?" - A patron walks into the bustling library, through our unlocked doors, and asks, "Are you open or closed today?" - A man stands at a computer terminal five feet from the librarian, who is on the phone. While still staring at the computer screen, he starts shrieking, "IT'S NOT WORKING! IT'S NOT WORKING!" And the librarian, confused of course, looks around and wonders, "Who is he talking to? Is this a question?" - And finally, I was helping a man sign up for a library card and telling him all the wonderful things he can do as a member of our library, when a woman runs up to the desk, PUSHES THE MAN ASIDE, and screams, "I NEED A PLASTIC BAG." I respond with, "You will have to wait," and continue speaking with the man. I've been watching this community for a while and am glad to finally be able to participate! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ faerie_speak ]	2:35p	Liars-- I hate them. Dear Patron, Just a suggestion, but if you decide to lie about an event that took place at the library, please make sure the event was not recorded. To claim myself and other library staff members sat and laughed at you while you fell at the front gates is a stretch at best, but do be sure to first make certain that the area in question is not being recorded by security tapes. After all of the hollering you and your grandmother did at us, claiming we laughed and pointed and never helped you up, do you know how much of an asshat you looked like when it was proven not to be the case at all? Not only did our wonderfully clear digital recording show you falling by stepping on your own trailing jean pant leg, but it also showed me and two other coworkers helping you up. Your story then changed to that we were laughing at you while we helped you up. As the recording has no sound, I had no way to disprove the sudden change to your lie, and was made to formally apologize to you once again. You make me so sad. No love, ever-- Me. PS-- Karma is a real bitch to people like you. Just sayin'. Current Mood: cranky (8 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ unstricken ]	12:32p	highly-paid mofos our obscenely well-paid faculty members (we're talking several hundred thousand dollars a year) could use some five-figure library fines: 1. one prof gets certain journals routed to him before they go on the shelves for the peons to enjoy. but he has a novel approach to "returning" them--he tosses them in his recycling bin. library employees have to root through the bin to get back the journals we pay for and let him see first. (The laborious, time-consuming alternative for him, by the way, would be for him to leave the journal on a designated spot in his office when he's finished with it.) 2. one prof is doing consulting work for a local business and in that connection checked out a book (priced at over $100). Then handed it over to the local business. The library has a proud history of never charging faculty members for their abuse of library privileges, because the director would do anything to curry favor with them (anything except pay their fines out of her own several-hundred-thousand-dollars-a-year salary--the library sucks up the cost). meanwhile, of course, there's no money for staff raises,. but we're having a lovely holiday party for the whole staff this month....food provided by....the whole staff. Current Mood: irate (13 Comments |Comment on this)
cyberpunk [ longhkaster ]	8:58p	SKD - New EP - Adamantium Light ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (Comment on this)
library_grrls [ mysteena ]	7:53a	A little about me: I'm about to start my last quarter of library school (yay!) but my actual hands-on library experience is limited. I had an internship this summer and currently I volunteer at my kids' elementary school's media center on a weekly basis. The media specialist doesn't have an MLS, and this is his first year working in the library. Previously, he worked as the computer technician in the math lab. I think he was given this position due to seniority, but I'm not sure. He is the only person working in the library and relies heavily on volunteers. Yesterday he asked me to go through the shelves and make sure the books were in order. It was mind-numbing. But I know, a necessary evil and I am a volunteer so grunt work it is. I found a book on Zapata that had been miscataloged. My question to you is: How do I tactfully bring this to his attention? Obviously I handled it the wrong way because he got quite defensive. I handed it to him, told him it had been miscataloged and walked away. This way, I thought it would seem that I wasn't accusing him(as it could have been the previous librarian) and I had confidence that he could figure out the error on his own. Well, when I went by his desk the next time he snapped, "What's the problem?" I said, "Isn't it about Zapata?" "Yes" (almost a snarl) "Shouldn't it be in the Z's?" At this point he looks at the spine and sees that it had been labeled with an "R" and he started berating himself, etc. But the whole experience was awkward. I don't want to disrespect him or what he clearly considers HIS library. Is there a more delicate way to handle such a situation? (16 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ kippurbird ]	9:50a	Please do not give me the Evil Eye when I tell you that those computers are reserved for Catalog Use Only. Telling me that you used to be able to use them to check your email doesn't change the fact that you can't do that now. Much like the fact that George W. Bush used to be president and isn't now, the rules changed. The huffing doesn't help either. It just irritates me. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ stinkycheez ]	11:37a	Dear Patron, Personally, I think we have made a huge mistake in allowing food in the library. The fact that you appear to be eating an onion sandwich proves that I'm right. I would say more, but my eyes are watering too badly. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
library_grrls [ lilbellule ]	11:58p	Literacy Charities Does anybody have suggestions of cool (and reputable) literacy-related charities? Domestic or international doesn't matter - I just want to see what's out there. Thanks! (7 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ aholesrus ]	11:04p	Please clean the damn sink! Dear Coworker: I understand having good oral hygiene and all but when you brush your teeth for the 3rd time in 8 hours could you PLEASE clean the damn faucet and rinse the sink out??????????????????? I'm not sure what is more gross, the spit you leave on the faucet or the chewed particles of food and toothpaste left in the sink. Thank You (3 Comments |Comment on this)
library_grrls [ cariadanam ]	11:47a	AS or BS??? Hi everyone, After much pondering and almost backing out I have decided to change careers. I have read all the info out there about why I shouldn't go into librarianship (budget, no one is retiring, etc) but I can't seem to resist! A little background and my question: I have an AS (Paralegal) and I have a MS (Acupuncture/Oriental Medicine) I supposedly received my Bachelors along the way to the Masters. My problem is my masters is not regionally accredited. I can't apply for the MLS/MLIS until I get an accredited Bachelors. I am in California and we have Associate's library programs that I can attend through a community college, this would enable me to hopefully get a job as a paraprofessional. Or I could take the online Bachelors through University of Maine, Augusta. A bachelor's wouldn't be much longer and then I could roll into a MLS program. Concerns: I just can't figure out by research if I would be more employable as a paraprofessional with a certificate/AS or with a MLS. Do you think jobs will be more plentiful for paraprofessionals considering all the issues these days? If I did do the Bachelor's would I be frowned on for doing it in Library science sense its not diversified? I do have a MS in Chinese medicine after all. I think the online Bachelors would make since, because I can do it online. There are very few Bachelors degrees online especially in CA, and I don't want to put a lot of money into this going to out of state schools. I am 36 with 3 small kids, things are tight. The school in Maine has a low tuition fee for out of state LS degrees. I want to do what is actually going to get me a job, even if it means making less money but I want to pick the right schooling situation as well. I appreciate your thoughts! Julie Current Mood: contemplative (7 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ angelchrome ]	8:41a	A question for you fine folks I volunteer at my local branch a couple days a week, doing a job that saves some poor staff member a couple hours in the morning. I've got a wicked cold at the moment and I'm feeling a little guilty for calling off this week but I want to know how people really feel about it. Is it more inconsiderate to call out of volunteer duties or to come in anyway and risk passing the infection to staff? I probably have the energy to do the job but I just kinda assume that no one wants a cold. I certainly don't want this cold. What do you think? Updated: It seems like the overwhelming consensus is that I can quit feeling guilty about calling off this week. (20 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 7th, 2009
library_mofo [ sine_graph ]	7:32p	Today is a double-mofo day. 1. Shame on coworkers who shamelessly promote themselves on the staff website in order to influence others to help them win an engagement photoshoot. Who actually say things like, "Visit this website and vote for me on your break." 2. Shame on ladies with shopping carts full of food who treat staff like lowest scum because the public computers will not print pictures only (no text!) off their Facebook pages. Who actually say things like, "Well, is there anyone working tonight who actually knows what they're doing? They do this for me at the other branch. At least two of them do. I don't know what the rest of them are good for." complete with sighs, exhales and eyerolls. Are you fucking kidding me? (8 Comments |Comment on this)
library_grrls [ xdamethyst ]	10:42a	Hey, Since it's holiday season, I was wondering if I need to prepare gifts for my boss and coworkers. I know the answer would be "it depends on your work environment", but I feel embarrassed to ask my coworkers if they do so, and if they have traditions to do that. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
lj_maintenance [ mhwest ]	1:15p	Notification System **FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009** So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything. And finally some answers to some questions: ( Read More and Get Some Answers... ) Current Mood: grumpy (538 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ nebroadwe ]	12:39p	I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello Dear Historical Genevan Printer:       Make up your mind. If, in your edition of the collected works of Machiavelli, you want Il principe to appear second, after the Historie Fiorentine and before the Discorsi sopra la Prima Deca di Tito Livio -- and since you've labeled them "Parte seconda", "Parte prima" and "Parte terza", respectively, in the table of contents, that looks like a fair bet -- don't put the catchword "DISCORSI" on the last leaf of the Historie Fiorentine. You are apt to confuse people. Like binders. And catalogers attempting to write signature statements describing the Platonic state of your work. Sincerely, nebroadwe (the Rare Books cataloger who hates mixed bibliographic signals) Dear Contemporary World of Machiavelli Bibliography and/or Cataloging:       Why haven't any of you mentioned this? You're making me nervous ... Sincerely, nebroadwe (the Rare Books cataloger who can't be looking at the only copy with this problem) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
macscreenshots [ jackal ]	7:53p	Community announcement I hope at the permission of the members of this community you'll allow me to announce a new group created to collect the bugs and issues of macosx and Apple products. The community name is apple_critics The goal of this communtiy is to 1- Piss off the fan boys 2- Make the OS and hardware better, by pointing out the current flaws 3- Hope that Apple reads this (as they have before) and fix outstanding issues Please join in. I just ask that people post CONSTRUCTIVE replies. Pointless name calling comments will not be tolerated. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
macscreenshots [ caustik_grip ]	9:54p	The iMac ( Under here. ) Current Mood: buzzed (5 Comments |Comment on this)
appleworld [ sarainc ]	6:22p	check out these awesome iphone/ipod docking stations: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36079445 (1 Comment |Comment on this)
appleworld [ firesidedog ]	3:43p	Mac to Ipod Okay I realize that this is probably a stupid question. But I am still relatively new to Mac's. How do I go about transferring my pictures from my Mac to my Ipod? Thanks for your input. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
library_mofo [ brennaraven ]	3:05p	EZborrow fail reminder: I'm a circulation desk-monkey at a college library Dear Patron, No, your book cannot be renewed. My computer says you have renewed it too many times already. I don't care that "someone" renewed it here for you before. Yes, I'll call over my manager. He'll tell you the same thing. Also, bonus! You don't have the slip that goes with Illiad or the sticker that goes with EZBorrow. You claim we gave you the book without it? No, that's highly doubtful. No, we cannot renew your book. Yes, you can keep it, but you will incur fines. ~me Dear fellow student, Telling me the title helps a little. Oh, it's "Mathematics"? No that doesn't help me. This is an engineering school, there are lots of books with mathematics in title. You don't know what class you have? Ok, who is your professor? Can you spell it? No? That doesn't help me. It's pink? Oh, and you remember it's "Engineering Mathematics." Ok, that helps a little. Yes, you can check it out now that I've found it. Yes, you can renew it in four hours if no one is waiting for it. Thank you.... Wait... No, you cannot leave the library with the book. No, not even for 5 min. My boss will return the book and put it on the cart because he's the one that caught you trying to leave and setting off the alarm. Again, no, not even for 5 min. Oh, you're back. Yes, I need to re-check out the nice pink book. Yes, I need your ID again. No, I do not have your ID. Why in the world would I keep your ID? WTF? Oh, good you found it in your pocket. Fuck off. ~me and a quick P.S. to my fellow students... Yes, it's finals week. And yes, it's snowing. Some of us are running on little to no sleep. PLEASE be kind and have everything ready when you come to my desk. I'll be here most of the week working because I'm nice and I don't have any finals (yay for being an English major). (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 4th, 2009
library_mofo [ libraryminx ]	3:12p	I think I’m the mofo On the Reference Desk this afternoon: Clueless Teenager: Do you, like, get paid to work here, or is it a volunteer job? Me: (Trying to smile, but I’m pretty sure my annoyance made me look and sound evil) Not only do we get paid, but we have Master’s Degrees in Library Science. C.T.: (Stammering) Uh…ok…you win. I’m pretty sure I came off as unnecessarily bitchy, and I definitely scared the teenager. It’s just that I HATE that question SO much. But now I feel guilty for being a mean librarian. L (22 Comments |Comment on this)

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