A Picture Book Of Irony

One of my duties is to do hourly walk-throughs of the library to check for potential issues: building damage, books or other items out of place, or anything else that requires attention. I often find books left on tables, on the floor, or elsewhere, and I gather these up and check them to be sure they’re not on someone’s account before I reshelf them.

Today, I find a handful of children’s chapter books by one of the computers, and I assume they’re abandoned and reshelf them. A few minutes later, I’m approached by an annoyed mom and a distraught little girl, who apparently set those books down while they went to do something else and are now upset that they’re missing. I apologize, retrieve the books from the shelf, and give them back. 

About an hour later, I’m putting books away when another patron approaches me and says, “I found these stuck in the wrong place on the shelf.” You guessed it; it was the same three chapter books. Some days you just can’t win for trying…