Without Consulting Me

Lincoln City Libraries recently had the audacity to do this without consulting me. Yes, they changed their hours–and didn’t even notify one of their most dedicated users.

Yes, I’d been gone for a month and only visited once since I’ve been back–but I still don’t think that’s sufficient cause for giving me the cold shoulder. I worry that perhaps they misunderstood my absence, that thinking I’d forsaken them, they decided to forsake me. I can see how my actions could be misconstrued. I return all my books–for the first time in years, I have nothing checked out. Then they don’t see me for another month? To the uninformed, those actions certainly look suspect.

Maybe I should have let them know I’d be gone, or sent them some e-mails from Mexico. It was just that I didn’t have much access to the internet–and when I did, it wasn’t free like it is at our libraries here in town. I had to pay for the service in Mexico–and so I failed to keep in touch with my good friend Eiseley.

So today, when I got done with classes at 8:20, I dropped by Eiseley for a chat–only to discover that he was closed. Without the least bit of warning, he changed his hours to close an hour earlier. Which means that there will be no more leisurely night-time rambles through the stacks, no more catching just a few more paragraphs before the lights turn out. I rarely get done with my evening activities before 8, so the night library visits have ended.

If we are to continue our relationship, we must redefine our terms. Tuesday and Thursday mornings before classes? I suppose we can sneak a few hours between other appointments every now and then. But I worry that the inconvenience will mean an unavoidable shift in our relationship. You never come and visit me–I always have to visit you. And now you’ve rearranged your visiting hours so that they rarely coincide with the hours I’m free to visit.

I know you’ve introduced some new features–free holds and the like. It’ll make it more convenient. I can just run in and pick up my titles and leave. But I’ll miss our conversation, the long-standing relationship we’ve had. I really wish you would have thought to consult me. ‘Cause this change makes me really sad.