A mouse has been stolen from our computer. What kind of person steals a computer mouse???? A mean one, that's who. We are now down to three computers for public use.
On another note, we just had a man come in to see if we had any computers available for use. No, they were all in use. He just decided he'd go to library X because they have more computers anyway. Duh, of course they do. Library X is part of a very large system and is one of the larger libraries in that system. They have a lot more money to spend on computers. I wonder sometimes if people think they are insulting us by telling us about how other libraries have more stuff.
We know. Remember, we's the ghetto library.
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Does your computer have....?
The following story took place yesterday in my library. Picture it...the three o'clock rush has just begun and the third child (7th grade) has come in to use the computer. Her teacher has given her an assignment to report on the California Wildfires. Of course the child does not have a library card and needs me to log her onto the computer.
Her: I need some stuff about them fires.
Me: In California?
Her: Yeah, does your computers have the internet?
Me: Yes.
Her: Where do I find the fire stuff?
Me: I'd just go to Yahoo! News, news.yahoo.com or cnn.com.
Her: How do you spell CNN?
Me: Um, C-N-N
Her: cmn
Me: No, C-N-N.
Her: cmm
Me: No, C-N as in Nickel.
Her: Oh, cnm.
Me: No. C-Nickel-Nickel
Her: cnn
Me: Yes, now type .com
Her: .om
Me: No.... .com
Her: .moc
Me: .com It has to go in that order.
Her: Oh, my nails get in the way of typing. (she gets to the correct site) There's a picture I need.
Me: That's not in California. That's a beach house fire in one of the Carolinas.
Her: That's okay I can use it.
Okay, so now I'm sitting at my desk telling the kids who are waiting for the computer that they must wait when I see her leaving and ask if she is finished.
Her: No, I've got to go get a drink (not allowed in the library) from the store. I'll just come back and use it.
Me: You have to sign back up and wait your turn.
Her: Okay.
She brings her drink back in the library. I run her out of the library. Every time a computer comes open she wants to get on and I repeat that she must wait her turn. Finally the moment comes and I have to log her back on. She is heartbroken to learn that she only has 12 minutes left on the computer because our computers are shut down from our main library. I'm now logging other children on the computer.
Her: Hey! Hey! I can't get on that page. What was it? (I'm ignoring her because I'm helping someone else.) Hey!
Me: I'll be with you when I'm finished helping this patron. Now, how may I help you?
Her: conn.com ain't working for me.
Me: CNN.COM take out the O!
Her: Oh.
I try to walk away but she calls me back.
Her: I can't get to what I was on before. We go back to where she was and she gets upset because she can't find anything she needs. I point out to her links to a bunch of stories and her reply is, "But what do I print?"
Me: Whatever you need but you have to pay for anything you print.
Her: I need some stuff about them fires.
Me: In California?
Her: Yeah, does your computers have the internet?
Me: Yes.
Her: Where do I find the fire stuff?
Me: I'd just go to Yahoo! News, news.yahoo.com or cnn.com.
Her: How do you spell CNN?
Me: Um, C-N-N
Her: cmn
Me: No, C-N-N.
Her: cmm
Me: No, C-N as in Nickel.
Her: Oh, cnm.
Me: No. C-Nickel-Nickel
Her: cnn
Me: Yes, now type .com
Her: .om
Me: No.... .com
Her: .moc
Me: .com It has to go in that order.
Her: Oh, my nails get in the way of typing. (she gets to the correct site) There's a picture I need.
Me: That's not in California. That's a beach house fire in one of the Carolinas.
Her: That's okay I can use it.
Okay, so now I'm sitting at my desk telling the kids who are waiting for the computer that they must wait when I see her leaving and ask if she is finished.
Her: No, I've got to go get a drink (not allowed in the library) from the store. I'll just come back and use it.
Me: You have to sign back up and wait your turn.
Her: Okay.
She brings her drink back in the library. I run her out of the library. Every time a computer comes open she wants to get on and I repeat that she must wait her turn. Finally the moment comes and I have to log her back on. She is heartbroken to learn that she only has 12 minutes left on the computer because our computers are shut down from our main library. I'm now logging other children on the computer.
Her: Hey! Hey! I can't get on that page. What was it? (I'm ignoring her because I'm helping someone else.) Hey!
Me: I'll be with you when I'm finished helping this patron. Now, how may I help you?
Her: conn.com ain't working for me.
Me: CNN.COM take out the O!
Her: Oh.
I try to walk away but she calls me back.
Her: I can't get to what I was on before. We go back to where she was and she gets upset because she can't find anything she needs. I point out to her links to a bunch of stories and her reply is, "But what do I print?"
Me: Whatever you need but you have to pay for anything you print.
Friday, August 31, 2007
More on that
So yesterday's events were fun--especially having to repeat the whole series of instructions to the same woman so she could set up her own email address after having been so nice to help this man set up his.
Her: I think I've done something wrong.
Me: (looking at page that says, Error) Yes, you have.
Her: So what I do?
Me: Go to yahoo.com
Her: (Types www.com) like that?
Me: No ma'am, yahoo.com (looks at her sheet of paper where she has already written instructions). It's just like you have on your sheet.
Her: Oh.
My boss described it as a scene from 50 First Dates. The woman was especially proud when she saved her website on a disk.
Her: I think I've done something wrong.
Me: (looking at page that says, Error) Yes, you have.
Her: So what I do?
Me: Go to yahoo.com
Her: (Types www.com) like that?
Me: No ma'am, yahoo.com (looks at her sheet of paper where she has already written instructions). It's just like you have on your sheet.
Her: Oh.
My boss described it as a scene from 50 First Dates. The woman was especially proud when she saved her website on a disk.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Our old friend the Internet
I might be addicted to the internet. I check my email many times a day. I have a virtual pet that I log on enough to collect points and food for each day. I don't subscribe to a paper because it takes me too long to read the articles I want to when I can browse the entire paper in an instant online. I'm more likely to email you than I am to call you.
That said, I must confess I am also sick of the people who think their children are geniuses because they can navigate various networking sites and the schools must be wrong for not passing them to the next grade. You child is not a genius and must learn how to correctly add and subtract. I am sorry. I also don't think it is a priority for you or your child to check your networking account to see how many people think you are hot.
One parent came in and told us that the school had given out a list of codes that kids are using (ie...P911 meaning parents are coming). These websites are not evil. Evil people use them and try to hurt kids (which is one reason some of them are blocked at the libraries and schools). I think it is wrong to sue these companies because it is not their job to protect your child. If your child is using these codes you do need to be aware of it and what they mean.
Rules for using networking sites....
**Do the math...If you are going to say you are 18, don't post that your birthday is in 1986 or 1991. Anyone with a brain can figure out that you are either lying about your age or birthdate. In the case of one person I know, she lied about both and then posted her real age in her blog.
**Don't post your phone number. You are smart enough to use the internet, be smart and don't give out your real information.
**The more items (songs, pictures, etc...) you post on your site, the longer it will take to load your page. Hitting refresh 8 times will not make it load any faster. The computer has not frozen it just needs time to process all of the information it's trying to load.
Some Rules for Parents
**If you are worried about what your child is looking up, don't let them have a computer in a place where you cannot see it.
**You are the parent. Set rules, place filters, etc... on your computer so you kids can't access the websites you don't want them to see.
**If you are worried about what they are seeing at the library, come in with them and sit back there with them. It is YOUR JOB to protect YOUR kids. Not all parents feel the same about what children should be allowed to view so you need to be responsible for you children no matter where they are.
That said, I must confess I am also sick of the people who think their children are geniuses because they can navigate various networking sites and the schools must be wrong for not passing them to the next grade. You child is not a genius and must learn how to correctly add and subtract. I am sorry. I also don't think it is a priority for you or your child to check your networking account to see how many people think you are hot.
One parent came in and told us that the school had given out a list of codes that kids are using (ie...P911 meaning parents are coming). These websites are not evil. Evil people use them and try to hurt kids (which is one reason some of them are blocked at the libraries and schools). I think it is wrong to sue these companies because it is not their job to protect your child. If your child is using these codes you do need to be aware of it and what they mean.
Rules for using networking sites....
**Do the math...If you are going to say you are 18, don't post that your birthday is in 1986 or 1991. Anyone with a brain can figure out that you are either lying about your age or birthdate. In the case of one person I know, she lied about both and then posted her real age in her blog.
**Don't post your phone number. You are smart enough to use the internet, be smart and don't give out your real information.
**The more items (songs, pictures, etc...) you post on your site, the longer it will take to load your page. Hitting refresh 8 times will not make it load any faster. The computer has not frozen it just needs time to process all of the information it's trying to load.
Some Rules for Parents
**If you are worried about what your child is looking up, don't let them have a computer in a place where you cannot see it.
**You are the parent. Set rules, place filters, etc... on your computer so you kids can't access the websites you don't want them to see.
**If you are worried about what they are seeing at the library, come in with them and sit back there with them. It is YOUR JOB to protect YOUR kids. Not all parents feel the same about what children should be allowed to view so you need to be responsible for you children no matter where they are.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The "Sorry" Library
We are now the "sorry" library. I may start answering the phone, "Sorry Ghetto Library, How may I not help you?".
I must begin by saying that our sign up sheets for the computer say in large letters "30 MINUTES ONCE A DAY." Since we ask patrons to sign in to use the computer and I specifically told this one where the sign in sheet was one would think that she might have read it.
She asked to get an email address. I directed her to a place to get a free email address and helped her in filling out the form. I then tried to help her recover her resume from a warped disc with no luck. When her time ran out I logged her back into the computer and showed her how to pull up her document. All of this and when her time comes close to running out she is mad because we have people waiting for the computer and I cannot log her back on. I patiently showed her how to send herself an email with the resume so she wouldn't have to retype it.
Yep, we are a sorry library. I was told that no other library in our system has this problem and she has been to others. If she had known we were this sorry she would have left a long time ago. I wish I had told her we were so sorry to save us both the aggrivation.
I must begin by saying that our sign up sheets for the computer say in large letters "30 MINUTES ONCE A DAY." Since we ask patrons to sign in to use the computer and I specifically told this one where the sign in sheet was one would think that she might have read it.
She asked to get an email address. I directed her to a place to get a free email address and helped her in filling out the form. I then tried to help her recover her resume from a warped disc with no luck. When her time ran out I logged her back into the computer and showed her how to pull up her document. All of this and when her time comes close to running out she is mad because we have people waiting for the computer and I cannot log her back on. I patiently showed her how to send herself an email with the resume so she wouldn't have to retype it.
Yep, we are a sorry library. I was told that no other library in our system has this problem and she has been to others. If she had known we were this sorry she would have left a long time ago. I wish I had told her we were so sorry to save us both the aggrivation.
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