Miss Information is annoyed by Excellerators
After a protracted and annoying construction project, Miss Information's library has recently begun offering computer courses again. Oh. Joy.The following is a typical exchange:
Patron: I want to sign up for the Excel workshop on January 31.
Miss Information: Oh, I'm afraid all of our Excel courses are full until May. I could book you for the May 11 course if you like.
Patron: How about the one on February 8?
Miss Information: Nope, that May 11 course is the next one that has spaces available. But you can sign up for it if you want.
Patron (waves schedule at Miss Information): It says here that there's an Excel course on February 24.
Miss Information: Well, yeah, there is. But I'm sorry it's already full.
Patron: How about March 21? I could come to that.
Miss Information: Sadly no. The next spot I have in an Excel course is the one on May 11. I think you should sign up for that.
Patron: Can you put me on the waiting list for January 31?
Miss Information: I'm afraid the waiting lists are also full. The next class I can sign you up for is that one on May 11.
Patron: But I need something right away.
Miss Information: That's a shame. You might want to consider another library. The Big Serious Library downtown also offers Excel courses.
Patron: That's too far!
Miss Information: So, I suppose you'll be signing up for the May 11 course then?
It wouldn't be so bad except that Miss Information had this exact conversation 10 times a day for the last week. Not to mention that these are free two-hour seminars, taught by librarians with no teaching credentials. The level of desperation does not reflect the quality of the seminar--which is excellent, obviously, but still a two-hour seminar in Excel isn't going to turn anyone into an accountant.
3 Comments:
Hey are all your patrons friends of my daughter? This sounds like a conversation I had with her about Continuing Studies courses.
I always found it most amusing when they would sign up for ANY computer class. Excel is full? How about Word? Powerpoint? Database searching? Genealogy sites? Publisher?
Then much of the class was spent teaching someone how to use a mouse.
And that was always the same patron you taught to use a mouse last year during each of the 6 classes you offered that had 6 spots available.
So, we have classes dedicated to just mouse and keyboard skills. And that same level of desperation to get into anything. Often, instead of calling them "classes," I call them "little two-hour introductory workshops," and that somewhat reduces follow up questions like "will I get a certificate?" and "so it's every Wed., right, for how long?"
Post a Comment
<< Home