I worked the drive-through (thanks, Trissa and Beth!) the entire shift today in order to avoid contact with the person heading up our Book Sale. I felt kind of sheepish- whenever I'm not in actual contact with her, I have a hard time recalling what it's like when I am- so my presence can't be blamed for her behavior today: she was demanding and argumentative. She was mean to one of our regular customers; a nice man who's.....challenged. She tee-d off on why the sale wasn't attended well (I have my own theory, backed up by what I heard at the grocery store tonight, where I- of course- went right after work. "_______!" I said, spying someone whom I know always looks forward to the sale. "Did you buy some good books?" "Are you kidding?" she replied. "Do you know who was running it? No way was I going there. No thanks.") which, as she loudly declaimed, was the fault of someone other than the Friends of the Library: it was the library itself. We apparently were in charge of publicity and dropped the ball. Hmmm. Hmmm. HMMMMMMM.
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And it goes on. Julianne came to me today to say that her daughter went into the sale with money to spend, and when she asked for the location of the teen books, was told to come back with a parent. Gee, we didn't know that they had RULES. Upon hearing the story, The Boss rolled his eyes...and took notes.
According to those with whom I've talked, I am solely to blame for why there wasn't more foot traffic, despite the fact that it was THEY who chose not to send out a newsletter or postcard or anything to their 200+ members, reminding them of the sale. There are days when this stuff is NOT worth the aggravation.
Janet, you do an outstanding job. Unfortunately, you have the thankless task of dealing with two highly irritating groups: people needing meeting rooms and "Friends." I helped- one time- set up the Book Sale when my elderly neighbor was too ill to do her part and was astonished by the overt rudeness these people showed to me- who was there to help, for pete's sake!- and to the (absent) staff of the actual library. My cow: the venom these people -who were there ostensibly to support our library- exhibited....why????? To what purpose? It was the same this past weekend: complain, complain, complain. But the bigger issue- the one that really gets me going- is the complete lack of a welcoming spirit. To all appearances, these people had NO intention of selling anything to anyone and spent those two days being spiteful and snotty. Why? WHY??????
And with 200+ members, WHY can't they keep that gift shop open the hours that're posted? At the very least, they ought to scale back on attempting to keep it open (and take down the sign that claims they're open when no one shows up!) and maybe have it open, say, one day CONSISTENTLY.
The fact that the Book Sale was headed up by a person who's entire life seems based on spreading dissent and creating divisions where none need be (I kid you not: Girl Scouts. WHYS. My neighborhood. There is no venue too small for her not to take an active interest in scorching the earth and sowing the fields with salt) pretty much determined that there would be no cooperation, no good will, and no attempt to treat warmly the very people who took the time to stop by and purchase books. I truly do not understand why you would invest such an amount of time in an endeavor that is so obviously displeasing. Why???
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