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Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Keep the change

This weekend, I got a call from a staff person at the library, "Hi, we found a folder of yours here and we're going to leave it at the information desk." See, one of my current jobs involves working in a public library several hours a week. So at first blush, I thought I had simply left something on the table I work at and was appreciative of the courtesy call.

The more I thought about it, though, the less it added up. I'm not actually employed by the library, but since I'm there 15-20 hours a week, I like to leave my 2-pocket folder and a related book in one of those 25-cent-deposit lockers between days there. Since the table I work at is about 8 feet square and has nothing on it except my stuff, it's kind of odd that I would have left something behind. I tend to just leave everything in the locker.

Bad idea.

See, the library staff must expect the lockers are only used by people actually in the library. So when they find one locked on a weekend, they assume it's because someone has forgotten their stuff or decided that the locker key was worth more than the 25-cent deposit. So when I arrived at the library today, I not only discovered my materials at the front desk; the library staff had disassembled the locker in order to empty it out.

After collecting my things, I sheepishly handed the now-useless key back to the receptionist, who promptly offered me the 25-cent locker deposit back. Embarrassed, I stammered out a refusal and slunk into the library, folder and book in hand.

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