Frustration's Cure: A Reference Librarian

This scenario has played and replayed at both libraries where I work:

A student came up to me, frustrated that his database search wasn't working out well.

"I need to find some information about some companies for my business class," he told me.
"What sort of information?"
"Well, like how much money they make and stuff."
"Where have you looked so far?"
"Ebsco, you know, Academic Search Premier.  And we've found a lot of articles, just not what we need."
"Okay, I have another suggestion for you."
Big sigh on his part.  I could almost read "What now?" flashed above his head.

Curse of the Copy Machine

They don't teach you how to unjam copier paper in library school.  They don't tell you how much of a headache it is to explain to adults how to make copies on a copy machine.  They don't offer a Psychology of Copy Machine Idiots course in grad school even though it should be a required class for all librarians.

They don't explain how to add copy paper quickly and efficiently.  They don't demonstrate how to shake the urinal so that more copies can be made.  They don't tell you that during some shifts your entire job will revolve around a malfunctioning copier and have absolutely nothing to do with answering reference questions, working on collection development, cataloging the odd book, or any other activity that you do study in library school.

And finally, they don't caution you that you may one day have to be part of a police sting operation to catch a copier thief like the one that went down at Tyson's Pimmit Library in Fairfax County in the 1980s.