(no subject)

[quidditchgrrl]

Working at the library (or with the public in general), you run across a lot of gross and disgusting things.

Library books are in many ways like hotel rooms - made to be treated badly, then left for the next person to clean up.

Things one finds in library books...the rarest being bookmarks.

Yesterday, I pulled off what looked at first to be tape with writing on it. Once it was off, it turned out to be a used nitroglycerin patch. Yummy. :-&



Things I have found in books:

Nitroglycerin patch, used
Smoking patch, used and unused
Drug information for: Halidol, Viagra, Cialis, Adderall XR, Ritalin, Ambien, Marinol
Toilet paper, from large sheets to tiny scraps, thankfully never used
Tissues, both used and unused
Paper towels/napkins, both used and unused
Condoms, wrapped
Condoms, unwrapped but not used
Condom packages
Q-tips, used and unused (one used one had left an oily spot on the pages, yargh)
Family photos (you would not BELIEVE how many of these we find in books)
Gift certificates/cards from: Old Navy, Max and Erma's, Johnny Rockets, Damon's
Every kind of card and letter imaginable
Boarding Passes with flier information (they used to list SSN on them, yeah? I think the older ones we found did)
Checks, cancelled and not
Envelopes stuffed with cash (you can imagine how much trouble the guy who left $500 in a library book was in once we'd called his wife to report it)
Student IDs - one looked to be an OSU ID from the mid-late 80s
Court summons
Food, from Fruit Roll-Ups to sunflower seeds to an entire buttermilk biscuit smashed into a book (probably thought we'd never notice)
Hair of every type (yes, even THAT kind...ew!)
Band-Aids, both used and unused
Cotton balls, unused
Packet of Italian dressing mix



I'll add to this if I can find the list I used to keep...

I need a shower now. :\

Comments

[nerdork.livejournal.com]

I got worried before I read the "thankfully never used" part of the toilet paper mention.

But still, eww! Sometimes I am so amazed by the weird things people do.

[didi75.livejournal.com]

Ewwww! I was going to go check out a book from the library today. Thankfully, I'm not that much of a germophobe. :)

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

Ewwww. Makes me glad I don't work in a public library. Kind of makes me not want to go back, actually... (especially THAT kind of hair. Did you find it in a book of pr0nny pictures?? ;)

[ladyaeryn.livejournal.com]

Ahh, memories. :) Pretty much all of those I remember finding in our book drop, and once I'm pretty sure I also found a cigarette butt as well. :P

One of the most amusing books I remember coming through the drop was a dog obedience book - cover and pages all torn and tattered with what were very obviously dog bite marks. ;)

[bookwench31.livejournal.com]

Packet of Italian dressing mix
That's one I haven't come across yet. But all the others? Yep.

At my last library we had what we called the "wall of shame" where we would post all the pictures that we found. Eventually it took up almost an entire wall. We also made captions to go with them in our spare time. I miss that wall.

You can add to the list by throwing in stuff you've found in the bookdrop, everything from brown recluse spiders to dirty dippers. *Shudders*

[merrydrought.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, wow. I'm not sure whether it's more absurd that people are using these things as bookmarks or that they don't bother to take them out when they return the books.

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

A BISCUIT? Disgusting list but it's the biscuit that I can't get past.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

You know what? THAT particular hair was in a CHILDREN'S book, I shit you not. :O

People don't believe me when I say that other than coal mining, handling library books is one of the dirtiest jobs out there. Dust jackets are made to repel oil and dirt...so it comes off onto your hands. My hands are FILTHY after just a few minutes of shifting.

I wash my hands all the time. Upside is that I have a strong immune system from being in contact with myriad germs everyday. :B

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

That's one of the most common things we see in damaged books, which makes total sense! :D

I'm just waiting for one of the Cesar Millan books to come in all chewed...

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

LOL, we have a wall of shame, too...one of our guys will find random pictures and paste them onto photos.

Last one, he put horse heads on a couple posing for a prom photo...hilarious!

We've never had spiders in the bookdrop, but we saw 3 silverfish today *shudder*

[writers-wrath.livejournal.com]

Wow, am I glad I just renewed my library card. Excuse me while I go soak my hands in bleach. :P

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

*clings to you for knowing correct use of MYRIAD* :D

[queenkatieett.livejournal.com]

I'd really forgotten all about that. My retail books are always covered in cardboard filings or something when they come out of our receiving area, but they don't feel gross.