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Quite often, students come in to the library and leave their stuff on the tables, and then saunter away for more than a few minutes. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they don't. Up until now, when they ask if they can leave their stuff, I have usually said that it's okay (albeit reluctantly), but that I can't watch their stuff at all times, so if they come back and something's missing, it's their problem. From now on, though, I don't think I'm going to do even that. For one thing, when they leave their stuff lying around, it clutters up the library and takes up space for others who want to use the table for studying (i.e. what they're there for in the first place).
However, when I actually reflect on this, I get a little irritated. Why do they think that the library is their own personal storage space? On top of this, a student actually came to my desk today and asked if she could leave her book at my desk while she went to class because it was too heavy. Seriously? You actually have the gall to ask that? That's as bad as the guy who asked if he could use my phone, when he was holding an operational cell phone right in his hand. Speaking of the phone, they really need to stop asking me if they can use that thing, too. I'm technically not allowed to let them use it, even though I have let a few students use it because I'm a pushover who likes doing favors for people.
And while I'm still in rant mode, stop asking me detailed questions about your financial aid, taxes, bank accounts, and other subjects I have no reason to know anything about. The sign outside says "Library." It doesn't say H & R Block. I'm a librarian, not a CPA. I went to library school, not business school, and I've only taken one accounting class in my entire life, and that was way back in high school. We have two financial planners on staff here at the college who are extensively trained in accounting, financial aid, and other such subjects. Ask them those questions, not me.
However, when I actually reflect on this, I get a little irritated. Why do they think that the library is their own personal storage space? On top of this, a student actually came to my desk today and asked if she could leave her book at my desk while she went to class because it was too heavy. Seriously? You actually have the gall to ask that? That's as bad as the guy who asked if he could use my phone, when he was holding an operational cell phone right in his hand. Speaking of the phone, they really need to stop asking me if they can use that thing, too. I'm technically not allowed to let them use it, even though I have let a few students use it because I'm a pushover who likes doing favors for people.
And while I'm still in rant mode, stop asking me detailed questions about your financial aid, taxes, bank accounts, and other subjects I have no reason to know anything about. The sign outside says "Library." It doesn't say H & R Block. I'm a librarian, not a CPA. I went to library school, not business school, and I've only taken one accounting class in my entire life, and that was way back in high school. We have two financial planners on staff here at the college who are extensively trained in accounting, financial aid, and other such subjects. Ask them those questions, not me.