36.6 Pounds of Books

I spent today going between four of U-M's libraries tracking down over 20 books and articles. They were such a pain to lug all over the city that when I got home I decided to weigh them in order to quantify the burden I'd been carrying (yes, I'm a nerd). After putting them on the scale (in a couple batches to fit), they weighed in at 36.6 pounds--I can't wait to read every ounce of them.

Gathering all of these books was really a joy though, because the U-M library system has such phenomenal customer service. For example, one article that I really wanted was not in the stacks, so I asked at the Reference desk. The reference librarian was sure they should have it, so she directed me to the Serials/Microfilm desk. The work-study student in the Serials/Microfilm section was cheerily clueless and called her supervisor over to consult with me (though he didn't actually come over, he just hollered at me from his desk in the back--I guess he forgot the rule about using his "inside voice" in the library). Anyway, he told me that I had a Reference desk question and that the Reference desk never should have sent me to him. Therefore, I went back to my reference librarian, who looked at her computer again and said she thought they should have the journal and that I should check with the Circulation desk. So, I went down to the Circulation desk, where I was informed that I didn't have Circulation desk question, but my question was for the Serials/Microfilm desk.

So how was this good customer service you ask? Well, they didn't meet any of my needs, but they always denied me with a smile. Anyway, I decided just to request the article via Inter-Library Loan, but I'm sure that I will get an e-mail in the next day or two telling me that they can't get it via Inter-Library Loan, because U-M already owns the journal. Then, I will have to e-mail them explaining the situation (which I'll probably just cut-and-paste from this blog entry); they will take another couple days to verify my claim before processing my loan request. Finally, I will get the article via Inter-Library Loan, and I'm really looking forward to reading it--in about three weeks.