Where the College Library is in Error
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007Grinnell College services are well known for their attitude—they are here to, primarily, torture students. I am certain it is not their ex officio purpose—it is the endless battle of classes.
As long as the average staff member and administrator is significantly less intelligent than the average student, the clash between the two groups will not siege. The College recruits students all over the world—in fact, it has 18 people working in the Admissions department—, but it has only 4 people in the Human Resources department, which recruits administrators and staff members. Even though they consult students, faculty, and relevant administrators, the pool from which they usually recruit staff members and administrators is way smaller: Iowa.
As long as the administrators and staff members are afraid that a student will outsmart them, they will react impulsively, as to protect their salaries and positions, to every criticism: they will discard it without further consideration and degrade, or at least try, the criticiser.
Among my favorite college departments is the Grinnell College Libraries. Not because they run their own Linux server, or because they require service level agreements from the College’s poor Information & Technology Services—but because they think so highly of themselves, that even I feel bad when I outsmart them.
Exempli gratia, today, I discovered that my patron record was in error! There were eleven books checked out under my name, even though I had only checked out ten. There was an extra book that I never checked out, let alone ever seen in my life.
After meditating for a couple of hours I had the courage to confront the circulation lady. I pointed out the error on my record. She explained to me a couple of times that according to the Library’s great protocols, no book gets checked out without a Grinnell College Identification Pioneer One Card. Thus, she irrationally concluded, I must have checked out that book for someone else, and then forget about it. That I always check out groups of books, and that the particular book was checked out on it is own, did not convince her. That this book had nothing to do with any other book, did not convince her. She was trying to convince me that I must have the book and that I should try to remember where it is.
I insisted. I provided further proof about my checking out habits—even though I do not believe I am a creature of habit—and she was finally convinced. «Something really weird must have happened!» she said in her flattering Iowan accent. «Let me check the stacks.» And she did. A few minutes later the book magically disappeared from my patron record and I received an email: «I did locate the book in question, Process and Reality, in the stacks. I have no idea why this book was checked out to you, but please accept our apologies for this error.», it read.
Thus, I, a humble student, proved the most esteemed College Library to be in error and its protocols insufficient. Bug, or feature?
