When I started at DePaul, I worked in the library. I thought it would be glamorous because, hey, I love libraries. Obviously, I had forgotten my times as a volunteer at the Royal Palm Beach Public Library. (More on that another day.)
My job, for which I can't even remember the title, was part of a factory line of book entry. Someone before me would recover the title in ugly library binding and place it on a cart. The cart would then be delivered to me. My job, in the fast-growing field of book security, was to open each book and place a magnetic strip against the spine of the final page. Then, when finished with my cart, I would roll it over to the guy-who-pasted-in-the-due-date-card-holder. He gave the books to the stamper who would mark them "Property of DePaul Library." Then, they were rolled to the data entry girl who would make them available in the collection.
This was a very specific hierarchy. The data entry girl was definitely at the top of the heap. One had to "work up" to this valued position. (Luckily, she couldn't lord it over me because the management wouldn't allow us to talk. Ever.)
The only way to move up the ranks was to do your job without error, which for me, meant that I had to place the strip perfectly along the spine. If it was off just a little, the library patron could see the strip (note the white line in the picture above), thus defeating its purpose as a security device. (Yeah, this made no sense to me either. What, if you could see it, would you be more likely to Exacto it out? Come on.)
Getting it perfectly aligned is extremely difficult to do. You have to get the spine just right without bending the book, and you only get one shot because those security devices are crazy-sticky. I was miserable at it. Obviously, ChiPubLib employees struggle with the same conundrum.
Once, the stamper guy was out sick and I was asked to do the security and the stamping. They made a big deal out of it because stamping was such an important job. It was ridiculous, although they did offer to pay me double-time because I was doing two jobs. I accepted. That was my most glorious moment. Sigh.
My job in book security only lasted three long months.
1 comment:
This is glorious, hilarious, and adorable-ious.
I've found that hierarchies of crappy jobs are sometimes even more strictly enforced than in good jobs. People feel less secure in crappy jobs, and one of the reasons they're usually crappy is that the entire branch is getting squeezed, from management on down.
The only thing I think is crazier is the reverse-hierarchy of hospitality. Entry-level jobs require little skill and pay not so well. However, if you move up to management, you can work more hours for less pay (per hour) and more pressure. It's a lose-lose situation.
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