Reference librarianship as calorie burner

First two hours at reference desk this morn:

• Up the stairs to take a book on hold to the reserve shelves.
• Back downstairs.
• Out to the computers to help with resume attachment.
• Back to desk.
• Off to shelves to look for copy of D.H. Lawrence "Sons and Lovers." It is missing. Back to the phone to break the bad news.
• Upstairs to pick up printout of a Power of Attorney form since downstairs printers are not working.
• Downstairs.
• Upstairs again to print out a Google Maps.
• Downstairs.
• Printout only included directions, not map, so back upstairs to pick up map.
• Downstairs.
• Etc.
• Huddle behind reference desk, calculating how many leftover Christmas cookies I can now afford to eat.

Another exciting Friday in the men's restroom

My coworker at the reference desk reports:

A regular patron just headed into the men's restroom, from which shortly thereafter loud whoops could be heard emanating.

Carnivorous readers

Overheard as two patrons headed downstairs, to where the adult fiction and nonfiction is at: "The meat of the library is down here."