An Actual HARD Reference Question

Name the battleships used for heavy bombardment in the Battle of Saipan. Not the first batch of ships. He wants the eight pre-Pearl Harbor monsters they brought in the next day, commanded by Admiral Oldendorf.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? No, it was a tough question, and I loved working on it.

But it took forever because of the other questions: printer advice, how to open a file on a dead floppy, tax forms, Pelzer books ...

In the Morning

Pen.
Paper and pencil.
Go ahead. Use the computer.
She tries to scrounge up the money to print out a Project runway application.
Yet another person asks permission to use the self-service computers ...
Loading Flash.
Dreamers of the day, by Mary Doria Russell, The blue star, by Tony Earley and The rain before it falls, by Jonathan Coe.
Of mice and men on DVD.
A loud family comes in, each of them demanding library cards so they can fill out online tax forms. I give them a little help, and now they can't even press Enter without calling me over with needy looks.
Shh!
Be a real estate millionaire, by Dean Graziosi.
She needs copier help ... no she doesn't.
William F. Buckley books.
Friday after next.
Income tax forms are out in the lobby, sir.
Out in the lobby, sir.
Fax.
Zig Ziglar and Og Mandino
Shut up!
Push the Request button, sir. That one there.

In the Afternoon

Part of the city blew up! We watch streaming helicopter footage.
Fax.
Notarization.
The importance of being earnest on DVD.
She left a USB cable here last week. I remember someone turning it in, but it's gone now.
Clashes of cavalry, by Thom Hatch, and Robert Fulghum books.
More streaming footage. Several stores trashed. I'm glad I took a different route to work today.
"Why this computer keep going off?"
Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian. "Don't take grand avenue. They blocked it off for some reason." We know.
A patron says the explosion occurred in the beauty shop.
Microfilm advice.
Printer advice.
Notarization. Sign where my finger is, ma'am. My FINGER.
A patron waves to me as he leaves. I do not remember who he is.
We rescue the contents of her floppy.
Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, and Papillon.
Cribbage.
Two faxes.
I replace the computer reservation printer roll.
The perfect storm.
Public computer reboot.
Sorry, sir, the only newspaper on microfilm here is the local one.
Yes, sir, that class begins Tuesday.
Another reboot.
Phone books.
Two-sided copying.
That's not the patron password screen, ma'am, it's the Windows boot screen.
Shut up! (School is out)
"I need a county clerk's office number. My wife's in prison, it's a long story."

(Later) Happily, no fatalities. A few injured. That's kind of a miracle. It's a busy street.

Yesterday, in the Snow

Every other library and every school in the district is closed today, but us? We're open.
"I am too allowed to use the computers! My library said they would tell you about the change! I walked all the way in this weather to use the computers here! I have a consitutional right to swear! I'm going back and I'm going to sue you!"
The next patron is equally loud. He's from a rich suburb and in a friendly chatty way refers to our town as the "Armpit of Illinois" and adds "I'm sure there's a few good things about this town," in a very loud voice.
Sorry, ma'am. We still don't have the IL-1363 forms. I know the state's hotline told you otherwise.
Computer signup advice.
Do we have a certain flyer?
I am described as a "computer maven."
His Blackjack needs tethering to a Mac.
We're closing at 11:00!
Everyone is so impatient today. Circ is understaffed, and people are whining and complaining about what a hurry they're in.
Today's paper.
One True Friend, by Joyce Hansen.
Breaking Point, by Martha Beck.
He's desperate for wireless, so much so that he's willing to sit outside in the winter storm to use it.
Time to go, folks! We're closing! ... Uh, folks? Ahem! Folks?

Selected Transactions from Today:

"I have a book title. It's in German. M-E-I-N ... K-A ... Your copies are checked out? Do you have any Noam Chomsky?"

She inhaled the Princess diaries series in three weeks, but will have to wait months for the final volume.

I figure out what "sopa de pollo para" means through sheer repetition of titles.

Yesterday Morning:

Bathroom.
Library cards over there, sir.
"I'm completely computer literate." They storm off when I tell them about the signup
procedure.
Hepatitis C. "Want to see what I'm up against." I didn't need to know that he has it ...
Tax forms are out in the lobby, ma'am.
Study room signup.
Night, by Elie Wiesel. The patron hangs up before I can grab a copy. She calls back and hangs up on my coworker.
Computer signup. "How come we gotta go through this?"
Fax.
Today's paper.
I locked the woman out of the study room!
Help in filling out the meeting room request form.
The spelling of "Iroquois."
Super Mario brothers.
Pen.
Computer signup advice.
Estimated tax form.
Discussion over the cost of the thumb drives we sell now.
Scissors.
Two for the dough, by Janet Evanovich.
You have to go into your email account to send email, ma'am.
Bathroom's over there, sir.
Why don't we offer daytime computer classes anymore, and why didn't she get a flyer in the mail like her friend did?
Blood brother, by Anne Bird.
The religion, by Tim Willocks. Mad dash, by Patricia Gaffney. Bone Lake, by Drusilla Campbell.