Work Sucks

So, it’s been one week since I began my new job. Well, sort of. I’ve had a few days where I’ve gone back to the old job to help train some new people, and cover in some staffing gaps, but today is the last day I have to do that.
My new job sucks. My new boss gives new meaning to the word unorganized. Seriously folks, it’s a library, so doesn’t it make sense that things would be organized at least a tiny bit? Apparently I am the minority on that one. It seems to be an accepted fact that at my new library, books that should be on the shelves, books that say they are available in the computer – good luck finding them.
Now it is inevitable that there will be some miss-shelved items, because patrons like to “help” by putting books back, and sometimes the kids think its funny to pull books down and put them back wherever to annoy the mean library lady. And yes, sometimes the people who are in charge of shelving aren’t all there, and they miss shelve items. But this library is tiny. It’s one of the smallest branches – you can see almost the entire collection from the front door. And it doesn’t get used often as an actual library – more like an after school baby sitting service really – so the books don’t even get pulled off the shelves that often. But I could deal with simple instances of items being misplaced – it happens.
What I can’t deal with, what is driving me crazy, is the fact that my new boss feels it necessary to hold onto materials and items that we really don’t need anymore. Every shelf in the library is packed so tightly, if you try to pull one book off, at least 3 more come down too. And when she runs out of space in an area, it seems like she just puts items wherever she can find a spot, even if that spot is halfway across the building and in a completely different section. Or she starts to stack the items on top of each other.
I really wish I had pictures to show, because there is no way I can possibly convey the extent of the mess in words. There are entire sections shoved in the middle of other areas. Like there are juvenile fiction items in the middle of the juvenile non-fiction section. And there are paperbacks stacked two deep in the test prep book section. And to make it even worse, almost nothing is labeled, and the labels that do exist are mostly wrong.
I know that I can at times be a little compulsive when it comes to organization. Alright, a lot compulsive, but I really, really think that if any of you were to come and see the haphazard way items are arranged, you would agree with me – this goes way beyond a little disorganization. It’s like a giant cluster fuck.
Here I was, worried that dealing with nasty attitudes from teens was going to be my biggest hurdle to overcome. I can deal with the kids – really, they aren’t so bad. You just have to act crazy. They’re afraid of crazy. And that’s not really a stretch for me, come on, I already talk to the computers. No, my biggest challenge is going to be learning to let go of my compulsive desire to have everything where it belongs and letting it go. Three months people – I only have to stay for three months, and then as soon as another position opens up, I am so out of there. Think I can make it?