Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

I joined the Association for Rural & Small Libraries last year and have really appreciated the listserv, where professional peers reach out to one another with questions, and in search of support. I thought it might be cool to occasionally share these issues/questions, in case anyone out there is in the same boat and doesn't know where to look. Today's question: We have a regional catalog in which librarians can see the records of patrons at other libraries. Do you have policies restricting the issuing of new library cards to patrons with bad records in other libraries? How do you handle this ethical issue? I don't always respond, but I did share some thoughts today, which are: We are in a consortium and are strongly encouraged to not give new cards to persons with accounts past due at any other libraries within our consortium; this is a rule we adhere to. That said, we still were getting occasionally burned by folks who'd get a card and then leave ...

Prairie Dawn and I jokingly have a mantra here at the Library that goes, "Don't make me be a grownup." This line basically means I can be cool and we can have fun, but don't do or say anything that's going to make me have to put on my grownup pants and say or do something grownup-y. I had to put on my grownup pants today with my staff. Ugh. I happened to be at the desk doing something when a patron came up to check-in/check-out materials, so I gladly did it while my staff finished some conversation in the work room. Then the conversation turned to politics. Hey, I get that I live in the conservative part of Ohio, and I'm in the minority being a Democrat here, but no one knows that--you know why? I don't talk politics at work because A. you never know where others lie politically and B. it's not cool to talk politics at work. And they weren't shy about loud-enough-so-the-patron-and-I-could-hear-them-at-the-desk-discussing their dislike of Obama an...