Actual Conversations Heard in Actual Libraries #110

SETTING: My "Liberry" as a college-aged kid approaches the desk holding two home video tapes of the kind you can buy at Wal-Mart to record stuff on. (History lesson for you youngsters: this is what we used to do before DVRs existed.) The tapes have labels and writing on them. He holds them out to me.

ME— Can I help you?

KID— Yeah. I need to get these copied.

(First one on me)

ME— Uh, we don't really do that sort of thing here.

KID— (Looks confused)

ME— We barely have one VCR to our name. We're not set up to dub videos.

KID— But they said to bring them to the library to get copied.

(Ah, THEY, we meet again.)

ME— They told you that?

KID— Yeah. It was in my syllabus. It said to bring videos to the library to get copies of the tapes for class.

(Pause)

ME— Ah. I believe it meant you should bring them to the community college library.

(Pause)

KID— Oh.

(Pause)

KID— Where's that?

(And so I give the kid directions to his OWN college's library. He departs.)