Things happen in the real world. Not all of us can be safely & securely employed by the city for our whole lives in pacific grove california. Not everybody who visits the library is a local yokel. Some of us are visiting or passing thru. That's why the modern library is a little bit of a "lifeline" for people without all the connections and conveniences of living nearby. my cell phone was missing, lost, or stolen and i needed to make a phone call to my service provider to deactivate it in case some scoundrel had found it and might be misusing it.
So I simply asked the two young ladies behind the desk if I could use the library phone (not their personal phones). THe tall young lady immediately balked - and she even seemed to make a slight motion towards 'blocking' the phone as if I might try to grab it anyways. The shorter gal (maybe latina ?) didn't say anything- she may have been more compassionate but the taller (white) gal took the lead. This tells me that she (tall) sort of thinks of the library as "her" space and we are allowed to be there as long as we abide by her standards.
This sort of "territorialism" grows in some employees over time. Even though the library is paid for by taxes meaning it is owned by the taxpayers, some employees gravitate towards thinking it is "their space" more than the patrons. I have to wonder if there is even an actual rule that says "PATRONS MAY NOT USE THE LIBRARY PHONE NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES" , or did she just create rules based on who is asking. Or maybe she's one of those who falls back on "If we let one person do it, we have to let everybody...blah blah blah" . HOw many people ask to use the library phone per week ? My guess is very few if any. And that brings me back to the library being a little bit of a "lifeline" in certain circumstances. It's really ridiculous that I have to go to a Target (or other businesses) and ask to use their "courtesy phone" (which they kindly oblige) rather than simply make a phone call at Pacific Grove library. Why is a private business more charitable than the PG library which is paid for by taxpayers ? and by the way, NO, I am NOT "just another undesirable local homeless". I was visiting Monterey, passing thru, enjoying a few sights for one day when the phone went missing. But if you want MORE homeless, keep treating people like they are another undesirable, and they eventually will become exactly what you don't want. SHAME ON the tall young lady !
