Phone at the library rings yesterday.
GPL, how may I help you?
A frantic voice replies, there is a baby animal on X road by the entrance of the school.
Ok…
Well, you have to help!
Ok, I respond a bit slowly as I am so far out of my element that I cannot see my element. What type of baby animal is it?
After much yelling and discussion in the background, We have no idea.
At this point I really want to point out that we are a library, we can look up things, we can give books, DVDs and CDs if you are interested. Heck, we even have playaways. We have a lovely summer reading program and while the zoo IS coming to visit later in July, we don’t handle baby animals of really any nature.
To the lady I say, Ok, I will handle this and we hang up.
I call the non emergency police number of the town (this is a fairly small town) and tell her of my call.
What kind of baby animal, she asks.
I laugh and say, You know, I asked that and there was no idea. Could be a baby hippo, might be a baby bird. I just don’t have this information.
She snickered and said she would send an officer. I thanked her and told her to have a very nice day.
I told this story to friends and they laughed and said, librarians the new first responders. Someone suggested I belong on “Emergency” (if only! I would hang with Johnny Gage in a heart beat!)
And no, I still have no idea what sort of baby animal. My co-worker and I have ponder this a great deal since that call. And we always end the discussion with, Can we please just hand someone a book?
kkdonk 