And that other thing is NOT a cup-holder

So this one time at work a patron came up to me and said, "I'm trying to use one of the computers but it won't read my card." Then I went through the part where I ask the right questions and make sure they were typing in the right information, etc.

Patron: "No, I didn't TYPE in anything, I just put my card in and it won't read it."

Me: "Wait, you put your card in . . . where?"

Then I walk over and find a library card crammed into the floppy drive. And maybe get to spend 20 minutes trying to remove it.

This happens more frequently than you might imagine. Apparently the library's previous public computer system involved some sort of hardware on the computers where you inserted your library card. Which is the STUPIDEST IDEA IN THE WORLD, because it taught people to STICK NON-COMPUTER THINGS INTO COMPUTERS. And whoever thought of that needs to be killed, right alongside the dude who designed the mini-aisles in the chapels.

Posted in: library gossip