Custodians, Dealing with

Custodians are people too. Don't be afraid to talk to them when they empty your waste basket. Be careful with what you throw away though... sometimes if you don't have much trash they will just grab it out of the can without taking the entire trash bag. This makes trash collection a very personal thing. "Oh no, that's not my empty Preparation H tube..."

Take care to wrap bloody knives in plastic grocery bags, shred sexually explicit love notes, and recycle empty beer cans in the staff lounge.

J

Meetings, How to behave in

What follows are some general guidelines for librarians who attend meetings...

For Attendees

• Arrive on time.
• Bring a pen and paper.
• Do your homework (if appropriate).
• Don't talk over other people when they're talking. Wait to be recognized.
  
• Pretend to be interested or at least pretend to be writing something from time to time.
• If doodling, don't draw caricatures of your fellow attendees. Also, don't draw anything too funny that might get you in trouble when people see it and laugh out loud.
  

For Moderators

• Arrive on time and have the room set up for the meeting before it is scheduled to start.
• Distribute any lengthy handouts BEFORE the meeting so that people can do their homework before they arrive. It's no fun to sit around a table while everyone reads the same document.
• Don't print multiple copies of something you can email or display on a screen.
• Keep the meeting under control. When other librarians start misbehaving, make them stop. Use force if necessary.
• THE ONE HOUR RULE: Under no circumstances should ANY meeting last more than one hour. Any remaining business should be continued at a separate meeting or disposed of altogether. Violators of this rule should have their ability to call meetings revoked.
  

J

Welcome to the Guide

Librarians are strange people. There are no exceptions to this rule. Many are unknowingly awkward, dirty, unsocialized, and rude. The Guide is meant to be a reference source for these poor souls who walk among us.

J