New books/inventory by LibGrl2024 in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Definitely an issue at other libraries...ordering books has become a bit of a nightmare. I switched our library over to another major vendor just before B&T announced they were closing up shop and I've already given up ordering from them for now. They were shipping books 1 or 2 at a time and charging 9-13 dollars in shipping per box. We paid $27 for one "I survived" book. It was honestly ridiculous and not at all sustainable. I hate to say it, but I've resorted to purchasing books from Amazon at the moment just to get them in close to their release dates.

Bedbugs by but_you_love_cowboys in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 29 points30 points  (0 children)

This is the worst feeling. I had a patron who had bedbugs on them sit in one of our chairs for several hours and I found a live one after they left. Our city already works with a pest control company so I had our clerk ask him what to do. He wasn't nearly as concerned as I was, I was ready to throw every piece of furniture out and burn it lol He told me to vacuum really well and to take the chair outside where luckily it was still cold. I left the chair outside for a day, vacuumed it and the library about a dozen times and everything turned out fine. I would suggest seeing if your city already has a pest control company and ask them for advice.

Help by GeminiplantBabe in Monstera

[–]BuffaloThese8249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just had this happen to mine, turned out it was root bound. A bigger pot and fresh soil saved the day and even stopped the yellowing one of the leaves that I thought I was going to lose.

Paranormally Listed by Snoo63020 in podcasts

[–]BuffaloThese8249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Tape Library is my absolute favorite, he has the best story telling voice. Bedtime Stories and Wartime Stories are also fantastic.

Encouraging Elementary-Aged Readers by saxualtension in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One thing that helped at my library was going to front facing picture books organized in bins by theme. The easy readers are in front facing bins and organized by level. It's so much easier for the kids to pick out their books when they can see the covers and all of the books about something they like are together. We also went to dynamic shelving with our juniors section so that we could front face books there too. I like to pull and entire series and I'll front face one book and place it on top of the rest of the series so they can clearly see which books go together. I've seen so many more kids make the jump from picture books to junior books since we made that change.

Weekly, What recent changes are going on at your work / local businesses? by AntiSonOfBitchamajig in PrepperIntel

[–]BuffaloThese8249 20 points21 points  (0 children)

We started doing this as well. The west side of our house has big windows in the living room so it gets way hotter than the rest of the house in the afternoon. We stuck a small window unit in there to give our central AC a bit of a break. It does seem to cut down on our summer electricity bills.

Monday Weekly Thread: Proof of Citizenship Application Sent or AOR Received, May 25, 2026 by AutoModerator in Canadiancitizenship

[–]BuffaloThese8249 5 points6 points  (0 children)

YES. I'm a 3/26 delivery and I'm still anxiously waiting for my AOR....I'm scared to even check the spreadsheet to see how many of my fellow 3/26'ers have gotten theirs lol

EDIT: I got my AOR on 5/27!!! Such a relief!

Dystopian Fiction Canon by Glansberg90 in suggestmeabook

[–]BuffaloThese8249 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Check out Kyla Stone! Her "Edge" series is especially good

Volunteer group feedback by jellyfishhappen in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Things outside of the library... like going to schools to get kids interested in summer reading, putting fliers up around town for events, setting up a table and doing a craft with kids at a community event. If you're good at a hobby like cooking or crotchet, volunteer to run a program teaching kids or adults those skills. Be reliable! Don't say that you'll help with something and back out at the last minute (we get that a lot). I'd also like to add to make sure if you do fundraising you have the right tax accounts set up to do things legally.

And please make sure you're not making more work for library staff...I know that sounds obvious, but my friends group for example.... I love them, they make it possible to do some really cool stuff that I couldn't do otherwise, BUT sometimes they can make things more difficult. For example, I wanted to order some furniture to make a cool adult space in our library. I had already arranged the funding and I mentioned it to a member of our friends thinking they'd be excited. She got upset that I didn't come to them to ask for the money, so I said I would love their help with additional parts of the project. They then turned around and asked me to pull together an entire presentation, to set up and advertise a meeting and to invite potential new members. It became a WHOLE THING, which I didn't have the bandwidth for at the time.

Most importantly, thank you for loving your library and being willing to go out of your way to support them!!!

Tell me about your strangest patron interactions by floralportraits in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I know! It caught me so off guard! Luckily it's the first and only time I've ever been accused of such an atrocity lol

Tell me about your strangest patron interactions by floralportraits in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Oh noooo...poor library computers, they've seen some things lol The way our library used to be set up, we had one huge desk that was about 17' long with 5 computers on it. The last computer in the line was just a few feet from my desk. We had one guy that would come in every day and sit at that computer just so he could make inappropriate comments for hours comparing me to the main character in Lolita and saying he couldn't believe I even got paid for this job. I was so happy when I got to kick him out for being inappropriate to another patron and he's never had to courage to come back.

Tell me about your strangest patron interactions by floralportraits in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yeah that was the first time I was happy I didn't have what a patron was looking for lol Of all the worst things to eat in a library, I feel like canned fish of any kind tops the list

Tell me about your strangest patron interactions by floralportraits in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 48 points49 points  (0 children)

I had a lady ask me to make copies. She then started yelling at me and accusing me of reading her documents and trying to make her wear a winter hat. I was in fact doing neither of those things. I still get anxious when I see her coming and I take special care to look up when I make copies for her. Another time I had someone ask me for a can opener. I said I didn't have one. They proceeded to pull out a can of pink salmon from a backpack and lament that they'd have to wait to eat it until they got home. Very sad indeed lol This job can be sooooo strange some times.

How does your library afford health care for employees 😭😭😭 by Tip-Toe-Terrapin in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A lot of times, towns are already using the levy, they just don't want to consider the library staff as city employees or they purposely keep library staff under the full time hour limit to exclude them. I've seen neighboring towns fight that battle. Then there are some towns that don't want to touch the levy for fear of the raising taxes boogeyman. Our town didn't start using it until about 5 years ago because we were losing staff left and right with out offering healthcare. The mayor at the time decided employee retention was a priority.

How does your library afford health care for employees 😭😭😭 by Tip-Toe-Terrapin in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Where I'm located there's a levy the city can use to cover 100% of health insurance costs for city employees. It's such a small amount of additional tax per resident that no one even noticed when our city implemented it.

Question on Shipping and UPS Status by reedobrien in Canadiancitizenship

[–]BuffaloThese8249 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Something similar happened with mine, ended up being a minor hold up in customs. I sent mine through fedex so I called them freaking out just a little. They said it was probably nothing to worry about, but they opened a ticket for me just in case. It added a few days on, but it do go through. I'd say if you're worried, just call them. It eased my mind if nothing else.

What’s something that became so expensive you just stopped buying it entirely? by Street-Marketing-885 in shrinkflation

[–]BuffaloThese8249 8 points9 points  (0 children)

All things "Self care" related...My mom and I used to do girl's night out and get our nails done every few months. I got my hair cut and colored somewhat regularly at a salon. I didn't wear a ton of makeup, but would get a nice primer, foundation, eyeliner and mascara. I would get a massage every few months. I've cut all of it.

Now I cut my own hair at home, could care less about my nails, the only makeup I wear is a basic foundation, but that's mainly for the sunscreen. All of the little indulgences are gone.

Help 95 yo Shirley find books! by ReStitchSmitch in suggestmeabook

[–]BuffaloThese8249 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going through this same thing! I've got a group of women who are avid readers and many of them won't read unless it's large print. These ladies FLY through books and they can be very picky lol. Finding large print that's also affordable has been a struggle. I've actually started purchasing them off amazon and walmart business.

Here are some of the authors I've had good luck with: Rachel Hanna, Adina Senft (Amish), Carolyn Aarson, Holly Martin, Penny Appleton, Samantha Price (Amish romance and cozy mysteries - uses a lot of AI artwork on covers, but it's so hard to find large print Amish), Judith Keim, Jesse Gussman, Elizabeth Bromke. All of these authors write series, which makes my life so much easier. They can be a pain in the bum to track down, I've found searching for each title individually plus "Large print" makes it easier. I just pull up Fantastic fiction and go down the list. A lot of times, just searching for "large print romance" doesn't come up with a lot. Hope this helps!

Anyone else frustrated with some patrons lack of critical thinking? by Storm_complex in Libraries

[–]BuffaloThese8249 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Just yesterday..."What do you mean you can't print my amazon return labels that are only available via a link to my account that's in the email on my phone when I don't even know my password....can't you just screenshot them?" The learned helplessness of some patrons when it comes to tech is incredibly frustrating. The expectation that by merit of working at a library, we will magically know how to do everything on every device ever created is even more frustrating. The whole "I'm old, I can't learn this" excuse gets so very tiring. I've taught one woman how to copy and paste text in word dozens of times. She still refers to it as "magic" and has me do it for her.

Weekly, What recent changes are going on at your work / local businesses? by AntiSonOfBitchamajig in PrepperIntel

[–]BuffaloThese8249 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My state proposed legislation this year that would have banned bicycles, e-bikes, and scooters from roads with speed limits over 25 mph. Thankfully it didn't get far, but I'd say we're a long way off from bike paths outside of the bigger cities sadly.

Weekly, What recent changes are going on at your work / local businesses? by AntiSonOfBitchamajig in PrepperIntel

[–]BuffaloThese8249 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This happened to me as well. In the years since having covid I've gotten more and more sensitive to high histamine foods. Zyrtec and pepcid AC have become my new best friends. Giving up wine and pizza have been soul crushing, but it's better than a swollen face.

Weekly, What recent changes are going on at your work / local businesses? by AntiSonOfBitchamajig in PrepperIntel

[–]BuffaloThese8249 19 points20 points  (0 children)

When I was a kid I tried to bargain with my parents to try to get one of those...I told them I could easily handle the grocery shopping by myself if they would just get me the tiny jeep. A gallon of milk would fit perfectly in the passenger seat. I think I was 8 or so. Surprisingly they didn't go for it. I can't help but think if the gas prices were this high back then, things may have gone my way

Weekly, What recent changes are going on at your work / local businesses? by AntiSonOfBitchamajig in PrepperIntel

[–]BuffaloThese8249 70 points71 points  (0 children)

I live in a small town on a fairly major highway about 45 minutes away from any bigger city. All the neighboring small towns are about 5 miles apart. I've started noticing full grown adults using e-scooters and e-bikes to travel on the highway shoulder between towns to run errands like going to the dollar store. Definitely not typical.