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In the course of looking up stuff about the research libraries, I saw that the branch libraries--that is, the parts of New York Public Library that you can actually borrow books from--are having an amnesty on late fees, for anything returned by March 4.
I had let some books get very badly overdue, years ago, and was deterred from returning them by a combination of embarrassment and not having the money for the late fees. So, we bundled up said books and went down to the Inwood branch of the library.
We explained we had books to return, and put them on the counter. The staff didn't know what to do: our books had been out long enough that they have no bar codes. The next step was to see if they could find me or![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cattitude in their system. (I'd also misplaced my library card, but we have relatively uncommon names.)
There was no record in their computers of us or the books. The library manager said that she didn't know if they would even want to return the books to the collection (storage space being finite and these books being old), and that if we got any overdue notices, talk to her, she'd remember us. I asked her name, just in case--Rodriguez, nice and easy, and she's the branch manager, so should be around almost any time they're open.
We also got new library cards. They now give you two equivalent cards, a regular-sized one and a little tiny one, with just room for the bar code and signature, that goes on my keychain. I feel much more like a proper adult now.
On the way to the library, we stopped at the bit of park around the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (or Farm Houfe, if you look at the old keystone in the wall--I can tell an f from a long s). There was one periwinkle open and another close to, the first flowers of Spring. When I said that, Cattitude said it wasn't Spring yet, since he defines things differently than I.
On the way back, after stopping at various stores, we looked at the crocus patch near the flagpole, the one that had two buds a few days ago. As of this afternoon, two tiny crocuses were open, sufficiently that I could see the orange stamens. I do believe that groundhog was mistaken. (They're not as wide open as the flower at the top of this userpic.)
I had let some books get very badly overdue, years ago, and was deterred from returning them by a combination of embarrassment and not having the money for the late fees. So, we bundled up said books and went down to the Inwood branch of the library.
We explained we had books to return, and put them on the counter. The staff didn't know what to do: our books had been out long enough that they have no bar codes. The next step was to see if they could find me or
cattitude in their system. (I'd also misplaced my library card, but we have relatively uncommon names.)There was no record in their computers of us or the books. The library manager said that she didn't know if they would even want to return the books to the collection (storage space being finite and these books being old), and that if we got any overdue notices, talk to her, she'd remember us. I asked her name, just in case--Rodriguez, nice and easy, and she's the branch manager, so should be around almost any time they're open.
We also got new library cards. They now give you two equivalent cards, a regular-sized one and a little tiny one, with just room for the bar code and signature, that goes on my keychain. I feel much more like a proper adult now.
On the way to the library, we stopped at the bit of park around the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (or Farm Houfe, if you look at the old keystone in the wall--I can tell an f from a long s). There was one periwinkle open and another close to, the first flowers of Spring. When I said that, Cattitude said it wasn't Spring yet, since he defines things differently than I.
On the way back, after stopping at various stores, we looked at the crocus patch near the flagpole, the one that had two buds a few days ago. As of this afternoon, two tiny crocuses were open, sufficiently that I could see the orange stamens. I do believe that groundhog was mistaken. (They're not as wide open as the flower at the top of this userpic.)