It's a hustle bustle world - people sometimes blow in and out with hardly a word or smile to staffers. With a tough economy, we are becoming more and more crowded with users - including many families down on their luck and living at our homeless shelter. This shelter, a block away, has more families than they've ever had and they are just jammed in. The library represents a place to get away, meet up, hook into the internet and let their kids be surrounded by normalcy - or sometimes a place to just tune out and let staffers deal with acting-out behaviors by their kids because parents are just too beaten down to cope.
It is especially hard as the weather worsens to see these folks and navigate through their issues and some of the ensuing chaos that desk staff needs to manage. It gets tiring and frustrating and disheartening for the staff. I know I sometimes ask myself, "What good am I doing anyway?"
So a post that helps me reconnect to why I do what I do and love what I do gives me a chance to take a deep breath and go on. And it helps me remember that each step and smile we share with even our toughest patrons can make a difference.
Image: '♥ Letter Box' http://www.flickr.com/photos/46458074@N00/5187169522
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