# Bitches who complain to employees about library policy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148 "2009-02-02T21:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/21 "2009-02-03T02:03:59Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > 20 cents is a lot for a copy. Should be 5 to 10 cents. > > What? I will ignore your “what?” State law as interpreted by the Wisconsin courts allows any level of government from the state level down to the sanitary district to charge $.25 per copy. They have determined that to be reasonable. Never mind that it may have been when the court decision was made, years ago, and that costs have declined since, but that’s the fallback policy if anyone asks. It’s bullshit, of course, but it’s government bullshit. That makes it right. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/22 "2009-02-03T02:06:51Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Please go fuck yourself. Who the fuck asks “Why y’all charge 20 cents for a copy?” and not have it be a rhetorical question? Who the fuck KEEPS asking until I supply an answer? “It isn’t a free service for us to provide” is the best I could do, and then I get this snide “Do y’all get PAID out of that money?” I said “It keeps the lights on and the _free computers_ running.” What the hell else am I supposed to say? Did I set the price? > > Did I force you to print something? Did you or did you not, on your visit today, have free access to millions of books, thousands of CDs and DVDs, oh, and hours of free computer use? And you still get pissy about _twenty fucking cents_. If we didn’t charge you to print you’d print the whole fucking internet and you know it, because you, the public, are selfish fucking assholes. It’s the tragedy of the fucking commons - if I don’t ask you to pay for something you’ll treat it even shittier than you already do, you fucking cunt and your fucking cunt friend. > > Grr! People pick their battles strangely a lot of the time. I get so much shit over the 22c (government mandated) plastic bag charge, even when transactions are in the hundreds of euros. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/23 "2009-02-03T02:30:45Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I will ignore your “what?” > > State law as interpreted by the Wisconsin courts allows any level of government from the state level down to the sanitary district to charge $.25 per copy. They have determined that to be reasonable. Never mind that it may have been when the court decision was made, years ago, and that costs have declined since, but that’s the fallback policy if anyone asks. > > It’s bullshit, of course, but it’s government bullshit. That makes it right. Have costs declined? Around here, costs for paper, ink/toner, and repair services have gone up significantly in the last 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/24 "2009-02-03T02:48:46Z")
Frankly, **zsofia** , I’d pit any joker who calls singular me “y’all”. That shit has \*got \*to stop. Doesn’t matter if they’re entitled little maggots or not. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/25 "2009-02-03T03:10:24Z")
I would get shit all the time when I worked in a copy shop because we charged more for full-service copies than for the self-service ones! :smack: “Yes, sir, I know the self-service machines only charge 5.5 cents a page. But you didn’t use the self-service machine, you asked me to copy it for you. That costs 7 cents a page. Yes, in fact, they do pay part of my wages out of that difference. Do you think I’m getting rich doing this?” ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/26 "2009-02-03T03:24:29Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/27 "2009-02-03T03:31:04Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > I dunno, I was in the library in the weekend, and there was a guy there nonchalantly reading a nerfcore wank mag - FHM or somesuch - while his baby daughter was on the floor licking a power socket. I’ll type that again, shall I? He was gawping at a tit mag while his kid was _licking_ a fucking _power socket_ not two feet away. Admittedly the socket had a child safety cover, but I nearly shat a lung. The power plugs in my library are on the lamp stands on the tables and carrels. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/28 "2009-02-03T03:40:52Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > People pick their battles strangely a lot of the time. I get so much shit over the 22c (government mandated) plastic bag charge, even when transactions are in the hundreds of euros. Good rule of thumb about human nature: the less something costs, the more people will bitch about it. Seriously, when we’ve agreed to help out a client with some quick task at a minimal fee, it inevitably dragged out into an interminable mess because they’d reject everything we did and demand it done again and again and again and… When we charge up the nose and out the ass, they’re as happy as can be with everything we produce. Many people will judge your worth based on what you charge, so if you charge next to nothing, they will treat you and your work and opinions accordingly. Doing favors for them is rarely worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/29 "2009-02-03T04:27:27Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Have costs declined? Around here, costs for paper, ink/toner, and repair services have gone up significantly in the last 10 years. Adding on to that thought . . . I’m a freelance copyeditor, and many of my colleagues work mostly if not exclusively electronically because they don’t like dealing with paper. Some charge rates of 50 cents to $1.00 per page for printouts, simply because they don’t want to do it, and they set their rates that way to encourage clients to get their printouts elsewhere. Also, most home-office printers aren’t intended for high-volume use, so for us it can be more expensive per sheet. I don’t get enough requests to print to make such rates worth my while (I charge 10 cents a page for B&W and 20 cents for color), but if I did, you bet I’d be charging through the nose. Then again, my clients aren’t the general public. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/30 "2009-02-03T05:08:45Z")
I was once witness to an extended battle over library copier charges. A woman showed up on April 14 needing tax forms. The library had the standard IRS-issued loose-leaf binder containing one of each form, available for copying. But the instructions (from the IRS) very clearly say that the customer must pay copier charges (which in this case were $.10 each - a bargain). She pretty much threw a fit over this. She claimed that the distinction between a local library and a federal bureaucracy was unimportant - it was all “the government” which clearly owed her all the forms she fancied, free of charge. She got very loud and emotional about this - enough to ensure that everyone in the library knew of her grievance. After a good 10 minutes of strife and agony, the long-suffering library folks finally got her moderately calmed down - but it was a bad scene for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/31 "2009-02-03T06:13:02Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Did I force you to print something? Did you or did you not, on your visit today, have free access to millions of books, thousands of CDs and DVDs, oh, and hours of free computer use? And you still get pissy about _twenty fucking cents_. If we didn’t charge you to print you’d print the whole fucking internet and you know it, I’ve thrown away so many tons of paper from free-printing computer labs you wouldn’t believe it. What particularly pisses me off is when people not only somehow don’t notice that the document they’re printing is about 300 pages, but when they realize it they just leave it there. OR OR OR… ever had the people who hit print, and when it doesn’t print immediately (because the printer’s out of paper or jammed or whatever) they decide they didn’t hit print hard enough so they just hit it 32 more times, meaning that whoever else is waiting on something has to wait an hour while their dumb ass’s printing jobs come out (I’ve never worked where there was a printer whose ‘cancel print job’ worked very well, and you’ve no idea how many times they hit print) and a gallon of ink and small copse of trees gets felled to print out pages nobody wants to read in the first place. This is exactly why I’d love to charge for printing. That said, I think .20 is a bit excessive, but I totally understand it’s not your decision. I think .20 per minute/.49 per page bw/$1.99 per page color is excessive for using a computer at Kinkos, but then knowing that the few times I’ve used Kinkos (when my comp is on the fritz or I’ve been out of town without a laptop) I’ve been reeeeeallly conservative (though I swear they deliberately keep their computers slow as molasses to run up the meter). ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/32 "2009-02-03T06:49:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Then there’s the packs of kids that are dropped off by their folks, because the library is “safe”. It isn’t, not any more than any other public gathering place. And librarians are not babysitters. And, of course, the kids who tend to get dropped off like this are generally not your quiet bookish types, who will be more than happy to find a few books or whatever and sit down to read. Nope, these kids are the ones who have never been taught that the whole world is not a playground, nor have they been taught about inside and outside voices. I’ll grant you that some of the adults are quite as bad. I think that librarians should be issued a taser each, and the license to use it as they see fit. ---
**Author:** ![stucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@stucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/33 "2009-02-03T06:59:46Z")
I’ve got an idea…if you don’t like the price of copying, buy your own copier or just don’t use ours…go somewhere else (and on your way there, fuck yourself). ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/34 "2009-02-03T12:44:46Z")
> [@hawksgirl](#): > > What I want to know is this: Who builds a brand new library in 2008 and does not put in any frickin power outlets? There are these things called “laptop computers,” often used by people who are in school. These same people also tend to frequent libraries. I can maybe see not putting out for wireless internet (maybe), but no outlets? Even Starbucks has those! Cost, mostly. For someone to come in and plug their laptop in would cost _x_ in electricity usage. For a lot of users, that adds up. I know businesses that actually sealed up their extra outlets once it became obvious that people were taking advantage of free electricity in addition to the free wireless. It’s a cost-cutting measure, and it wouldn’t surprise me if my local Starbucks hasn’t done it, or won’t do it soon. Being able to limit your laptop time and restricting where you can plug it in to charge it is also a way for the library to control your behavior since you can’t hide in the stacks for several hours, doing Lord knows what. Before my uni put in designated laptop areas with outlets, people would watch porn, play MMORPG games, and so forth. Now you’re limited to whatever life your battery has. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/35 "2009-02-03T14:22:17Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Frankly, **zsofia** , I’d pit any joker who calls singular me “y’all”. That shit has \*got \*to stop. Doesn’t matter if they’re entitled little maggots or not. I let her slide on that because I assumed she meant the library and the librarians and other staff in general, not just me specifically. Although I don’t know how much we really take in in copier and printer fees - I might want a singular “y’all” when it comes to paying my salary out of it after all. Probably not, though. I _assume_ the reason for 20 cents is that it’s a deterrent - you only print what you need. Same for the copier. Also, the microfilm machines are 20 cents, nickels only, and that’s been since the dawn of time, so perhaps it’s for consistency. I mean, it’s a convenience service - if you want really pristine copies, take your happy ass to Kinko’s. I’ll very happily give you a map and draw a little route on it - is that customer service or what? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/36 "2009-02-03T14:39:54Z")
Hey, what are you bitchin’ about? As a librarian, your whole existence revolves around answering questions. You are supposed to be a repository of human knowledge. Still, there’s nothing wring with starting every answer with the phrase, “Hey, go fuck yourself…” ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/37 "2009-02-03T15:21:40Z")
> [@hawksgirl](#): > > What I want to know is this: Who builds a brand new library in 2008 and does not put in any frickin power outlets? The lowest bidder? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/38 "2009-02-03T15:22:47Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Hey, what are you bitchin’ about? As a librarian, your whole existence revolves around answering questions. You are supposed to be a repository of human knowledge. > > Still, there’s nothing wring with starting every answer with the phrase, “Hey, go fuck yourself…” So the sum total result of my masters’ degree is “Hey, go fuck yourself, the bathroom’s in the corner under that pink wall”, right? 'Cause, just checking. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/39 "2009-02-03T15:26:34Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I work as a baker in a cafe located in our public library. We are NOT a library department, but a seperate business. > > However, some folks still can’t get it through their pointy heads that we’re not a library lounge and they can’t bring their own food in here. I’m inclined to believe that a major part of the problem is that the way they’ve got things configured, your cafe looks like it’s a part of the library. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148/40 "2009-02-03T16:09:36Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I’m inclined to believe that a major part of the problem is that the way they’ve got things configured, your cafe looks like it’s a part of the library. Well, you can’t bring your own food into the library, either! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-who-complain-to-employees-about-library-policy/484148.md?page=3)