# Stupid library patrons **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104 "2005-08-15T15:43:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/21 "2005-08-16T18:02:15Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Depends on what you mean by inexpensive. I was jsut quickly looking at [Bestbuy.com](http://Bestbuy.com) and there was a 26" widescreen for $450, or close to that. I only found a couple TVs smaller than that in widescreen, but they are LCD, so they actually cost more for less inches. By “inexpensive,” I mean, “less than two hundred bucks.” When my current TV dies, I’m not going to want to spend more than that on a replacement. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![DogMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@DogMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogMom)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/22 "2005-08-16T18:34:41Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > On the other hand, I’ve found that playing audiobooks from the library is great! > > Currently, instead of our vaccous FM rubbish, I’m listening to _The Hobbit_. 🙂 Oooo! Me too! Only I’m listening to _The Hobbit_ instead of listening to our vacuous _AM_ rubbish. 🙂 I’m still trying to decide if I want to _read_ the LOTR trilogy after I’m done with _The Hobbit_ or if I want to _listen_ to them. Although I will say that Andy Serkis kind of ruined me for Gollum’s voice - the reader on the tapes doesn’t sound like Gollum “should” at _all_. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/23 "2005-08-16T19:23:11Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Oooo! I am so wioth you. Half the time it looks like they licked the DVD. Listen fucknuts, YOU DON’T NEED TO TOUCH THE DVD WHILE IT’S IN YOUR POSSESSION! Just hold it around the edges! > Aaaaaa! If we rent movies that are those two-sided DVDs, chances are great we won’t be able to clean it enough to be able to view the whole thing. Holding DVDs and CDs by the edges is har-rrd! (“Licked” it - looks like they dipped it in ice cream and let the dog lick it off, more like.) **BwanaBob** , I see you’ve met my b-i-l. Never lets logic or facts get in the way of a good argument. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/24 "2005-08-16T19:32:43Z")
I just ripped an audio book from the library (not to steal it, but to play once in my mp3 player and delete afterwards), and sure enough there was an unreadable track. Goddammit, this is a mystery book, there could be something vital to the plot in that bad link. PISSES ME OFF! ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/25 "2005-08-16T20:41:34Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I had exactly the same thing happen with a patron who wanted me to help him download MS Office. I couldn’t convince him that it’s not freeware “because I downloaded it before- that’s how I see Power Points!” > > Sir, you downloaded a Power Point Reader. Those _are_ free, but the program itself (the one that lets you make Power Points) is not. > > “Who says?” > > Uh… Bill Gates… > > He asked to speak to the library director, who told him the same thing but less tactfully, and he left cursing about our inefficiency. That’s when you whip out your clipboard and say, “So you’ve downloaded this before? And what’s your address? Are there any other Microsoft products you’ve downloaded at home?” You’d probably see a guy-shaped cutout in the wall… -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/26 "2005-08-16T21:21:10Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > By “inexpensive,” I mean, “less than two hundred bucks.” When my current TV dies, I’m not going to want to spend more than that on a replacement. If your TV lasts two or three more years or so, there will likely be some in that price range by then. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/27 "2005-08-16T21:52:48Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > If your TV lasts two or three more years or so, there will likely be some in that price range by then. Sweet! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/28 "2005-08-16T22:13:19Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Heh–I’ve defended full-screen movies here before (I’ve got a pretty small television and don’t want to purchase a bigger one, and full-screen means sacrificing some parts of the movie in exchange for having the remaining picture show up larger on my screen, so that I can see details better), but I would love to have a widescreen television. Do they make relatively inexpensive TVs in widescreen? > > Daniel Up until a couple of months ago, I would have stood with you, defending full screen because wide-screen was just too small for my poor eyesight. But I joined the ranks of the large, wide screened (HD, no less) and haven’t looked back. Go Widescreen! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/29 "2005-08-17T01:23:34Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Up until a couple of months ago, I would have stood with you, defending full screen because wide-screen was just too small for my poor eyesight. But I joined the ranks of the large, wide screened (HD, no less) and haven’t looked back. Go Widescreen! Same with me, more or less. I haven’t got a widescreen TV yet, but as my TVs have gotten larger, I’ve enjoyed letterbox movies more and more. ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/30 "2005-08-17T03:10:47Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > This is what happens when technical and non-technical people meet. Neither side leaves happy. This may, in fact, be the single wisest two-liner I’ve ever seen on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/31 "2005-08-17T14:31:01Z")
A little library humor. If you haven’t discovered “Unshelved” yet, hie thee to [Overdue Media](http://www.overduemedia.com/) . You can subscribe to it and have it show up in your inbox daily. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/32 "2005-08-17T14:57:59Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > …I’ve got a pretty small television and don’t want to purchase a bigger one, and full-screen means sacrificing some parts of the movie in exchange for having the remaining picture show up larger on my screen, so that I can see details better… My DVD player has a magnify button - if you press it once when watching a widescreen, it blows up to pretty much the same size a full-screen movie would be (if the movie’s at a 1.85:1 aspect ratio). Best of both worlds! ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/33 "2005-08-17T15:09:32Z")
I work in a museum which has a research library. It never fails to surprise me how many people are outraged they can’t “check out” an illuminated manuscript dating from the thirteenth century, or a box of letters written by a president. “This is a _library_, isn’t it?” We’ve also gotten the “my tax dollars!” speech, but sorry, that don’t play here: we’re funded by private donors. Our librarians have to watch patrons diligently because people will rip pages out of old record books to take home (like a phone book in a booth!) They will also try to underline or highlight in two-hundred-year-old books. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/34 "2005-08-17T16:05:39Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > They will also try to underline or highlight in two-hundred-year-old books. On my list of college “incidents” that just about everyone I know has heard me rant about involves an 1841 copy of Henry V that I found in the stacks at Alexander Library at Rutgers University (They had a LOT of old books in regular circulation). I was delighted to find this book, checked it out and took it home. I sat down in my dorm, opened it up, and discovered. . . . Someone had covered it with blue highliter! A 170 year old book, and someone saw fit to highlight it! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/35 "2005-08-17T20:09:26Z")
Congratulations… you’ve caused a bigger shudder in me than any of the maggot threads ever did. Ewwwwwwww… (We really DO need a pukey smiley, dammit) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/36 "2005-08-17T20:38:32Z")
> [@Obsidian](#): > > Someone had covered it with blue highliter! A 170 year old book, and someone saw fit to highlight it! In R.A.Heinlein’s The Number of the Beast the protagonists are, at one point, in a world that has “punishment to fit the crime” A quote from the book says _“Arsonists are burned to death, poisoners are poisoned, and I won’t even describe what’s done to a rapist.”_ So what would be a fitting punishment for someone who commits sacrilege against books? It would have to really hurt. Maybe being squashed in an old fashioned printing press? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/37 "2005-08-17T20:47:18Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > So what would be a fitting punishment for someone who commits sacrilege against books? It would have to really hurt. Maybe being squashed in an old fashioned printing press? For someone that highlights an antique book, you could write “MORON” on the moron’s forehead with magic marker. Permanent magic marker. This person would not be allowed to grow bangs. For tearing pages out? Tearing off skin. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/38 "2005-08-18T13:04:12Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > For someone that highlights an antique book, you could write “MORON” on the moron’s forehead with magic marker. Permanent magic marker. This person would not be allowed to grow bangs. > > For tearing pages out? Tearing off skin. No. Tattooing the word “FOOL”. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/39 "2005-08-18T18:12:55Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > I work in a museum which has a research library. It never fails to surprise me how many people are outraged they can’t “check out” an illuminated manuscript dating from the thirteenth century, or a box of letters written by a president. > > “This is a _library_, isn’t it?” We’ve also gotten the “my tax dollars!” speech, but sorry, that don’t play here: we’re funded by private donors. Ah, you have to wonder at the people who feel they’re entitled to something. I work in a hospital which has a private medical library attached, intended for our staff and our students. It is located in an office/academic building that is part of the complex, but not typically a place for patients. The other day I was in the computer section of the library when I overheard a librarian talking with a woman on one of the computers. Apparently a student worker had mistaken this woman, either a patient or someone who walked in from off the street, for a staff member and had given her information on one of the “how to search on the Internet for medical info” seminars that the library holds. The librarian was trying to explain the mistake and that these seminars are for staff/students only. This woman was insistent to the librarian that since she’d been given the slip of paper with the information on it, this wasn’t her fault and that she would be going, and stuck with that argument like she was clinging to a sinking ship. I finally saw the librarian just (literally) back away slowly from this woman using the equivalent of a “finders keepers” level of logic. Lady, just because you found your way through a non-patient building and got someone to tell you about something does not mean you’re entitled to it. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104/40 "2005-08-18T18:45:26Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > So what would be a fitting punishment for someone who commits sacrilege against books? It would have to really hurt. Maybe being squashed in an old fashioned printing press? The Nose-in-the-Book punishment! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-library-patrons/317104.md?page=3)