Gray Dogwood berries

A new volunteer at the library.  She introduced herself and then went to the back to sort out the 'BB' books.  They are thick cardboard books which can take a toddler's chewing on their corners while someone reads to them.  We keep them in bins and don't really bother to put them back in order.   The new volunteer was tasked w/ bringing some order - no matter how temporary - to them.   A few people walked in and walked to the back of the library.  I recognized them - they often use the library to hold their meetings.   I picked up the cash register receipts from the last week and attendance log and entered everything up to August 31st into the spreadsheet.  Printed out the resulting graphs to show Librarian Trevor trends in attendance, various other stats, and how much the Village, the Library Board, and the Friends of the Library should be paid for the past month.  A lady came in on crutches.  She said she didn't need my help in finding books but could I help carrying them.  I told her to yell, "Hey Sue"  whenever she was ready for me.  A knock at the glass front doors.  A three year old (?) was pounding on the glass to be let in.  His older sister, brother, and somewhat embarrassed mother followed.  I asked her if I could be of any assistance.  "No." was her answer followed immediately by a "Yes" from her older son.  He wanted books on baseball.   Since he didn't look over the age of twelve I took him over to the 700 Dewey-decimal series of books in the junior non-fiction section.  I'd put away enough books on sports to know this would be the general area for him to look.  I heard a "Hey Sue" from the Inspirational book section and went over to carry four books picked out by the lady on crutches.  I checked them out and put them in a bag so it would be easier for her to carry them.  The lady explained she'd broken her leg six weeks ago and this was the first time she was allowed out on crutches. She wanted to rest for awhile.  Told her just to yell when she was ready to leave and I would carry the books to her car.  She sat on a comfy couch we have near the front desk and picked up the local newspaper we keep there for patrons.  Librarian Trevor walked through the library and I gave him the printed stats, receipt slips for the month of August, and asked if he wanted me to put a sign up that the library would be closed on Labor Day.   The new volunteer hadn't realized  on Thursdays the library stays open until 7 p.m.  Told her no worries, she could take off early.  In close succession came in two people who wanted to use the computers.   Checked one out to each of them.   An older lady I know came to the front desk.   She absolutely adores books by Dorothy Grafton.  She returned the book she just read and had a list of four more books for me to order from other libraries for her.  She could do it herself on-line but she would rather have us do it for her.   I wrote down the info.  The mother and her kids were ready to check out books so I did that.  The three-year old ran back to the glass front door and stood in front of it causing the door counter to ring over and over until she was able to corral him again.  I had a sudden flashback to my own mom working in the kitchen while a younger brother sat on the floor banging happily on pots.  I started working on inputting this month's stats when the phone rang.  It was a patron from another library in the consortium. She was sure she'd returned a book but it still showed as being checked out.  Could I check the stacks for it while she waited on the phone?  I assured her I would check but I couldn't at the moment.  Added her request to my list of things to do.  The crutch lady was ready to leave so I picked up her books, opened the door for her, and placed them in her car.  Told her the library was honored that, on her initial outing sans cast, she had chosen to come here.  That elicited her first smile.  I walked back in and one of the guys at the computer asked me to double-check some info he had on the Edmund Fitzgerald.  He was making a quiz for a group he would be speaking to.  I proofed the questions he had and their answers.  I ordered the Dorothy Grafton books.  I checked our stacks extensively for the phone caller's wayward book (didn't find it), and made up a sign about the upcoming library closure for the front door.  The rest of my volunteer shift went on like that.  A side benefit of working at the library is it makes you feel smart (whether or not you are).