A Letter to Every Patron that Walks Into the Closed Library
Dear patron;
I know that you don't mean any harm, and I know that you were looking forward to coming to the library. Maybe you wanted a book--which would be awesome, I love it when library patrons check out books--or maybe you wanted to check your e-mail or look up an address. Maybe you were so intent on your mission, you just didn't look at the signs on the door. And honestly, most of the time, signs on the door are about kid's programming or something like that--there's no real reason to look and check them out.
So when the carpeters or the painters or the electricians left the door open so that they could get their stuff in and out without having to call in every time, you took that as, 'this library is open, and not closed for renovations', walking glibly past the seven signs that say STOP. DO NOT COME IN. WE ARE CLOSED. GO TO THE OTHER LIBRARY. WE ARE CLOSED. STOP. STOP. STOP.
Big red stop sign and all, you just walked right in.
And maybe you walked straight past the two library workers with headphones who were dusting shelves or moving books back where they were supposed to be, because of course library workers are supposed to wear headphones. Right past the boxes, right past the circulation desk choking on whatever can't go anywhere else right now. Right to the back room (past yet another library worker) to pick out your book.
Thank you for not being upset when we told you to leave. Thank you for not asking if you could just check it out, thank you for not saying that you'll just be quick. You're my favorite kind of library patron.
But next time, please read the signs on the door.
I know that you don't mean any harm, and I know that you were looking forward to coming to the library. Maybe you wanted a book--which would be awesome, I love it when library patrons check out books--or maybe you wanted to check your e-mail or look up an address. Maybe you were so intent on your mission, you just didn't look at the signs on the door. And honestly, most of the time, signs on the door are about kid's programming or something like that--there's no real reason to look and check them out.
So when the carpeters or the painters or the electricians left the door open so that they could get their stuff in and out without having to call in every time, you took that as, 'this library is open, and not closed for renovations', walking glibly past the seven signs that say STOP. DO NOT COME IN. WE ARE CLOSED. GO TO THE OTHER LIBRARY. WE ARE CLOSED. STOP. STOP. STOP.
Big red stop sign and all, you just walked right in.
And maybe you walked straight past the two library workers with headphones who were dusting shelves or moving books back where they were supposed to be, because of course library workers are supposed to wear headphones. Right past the boxes, right past the circulation desk choking on whatever can't go anywhere else right now. Right to the back room (past yet another library worker) to pick out your book.
Thank you for not being upset when we told you to leave. Thank you for not asking if you could just check it out, thank you for not saying that you'll just be quick. You're my favorite kind of library patron.
But next time, please read the signs on the door.
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