Oh, that rule doesn't apply to me

As I get older, I find myself getting crabbier about people who assume rules don't apply to them.  This week I'm particularly peeved about library patrons who think they should have special dispensation because, darn it, they're special.

Some examples.  A woman using the Internet has used up her first hour.  To get additional time, without logging off and starting over, she has to click a button every 10 minutes.  Very annoying, can't I just give her an additional hour?  No, that's not an option for me.  A young man who has come to the library to use the free Internet hasn't bothered to bring his library card although he knows he needs that to sign on, can't I just give him a guest pass?  No, not without some ID (this is our policy for very specific reasons that I won't go into here).  A patron has one of our 1-week, no renewal books checked out but hasn't finished it in 7 days.  Can't I extend the loan just 2 more days?  No, that's the point of a 1-week, no renewal loan period: no extensions.  The back-breaking straw.  A local teen center brings in 20 4th, 5th, and 6th graders without advance notice & wants them all signed up for our Teen Read summer program.  None of them are interested in the Children's program because the Teen program has the cool prizes this year.  None of them are interested in getting books as prizes -- they want the store gift cards, state fair tickets, candy, etc. that comes with the Teen program.  In the end we sign them all up for the Teen program.  But because I tell the group leader that we are making serious exceptions to the rules for them and that we'll need to hurry the process because they arrived only 15 minutes before closing & it's now only 5 minutes to close, I am called on the carpet as being unfriendly and unwelcoming.

For the past month, I have been telling our neighborhood 10 & 11 year olds no to signing up for the Teen program... Now I hear that the library is working on stronger collaborations with this center, and we can expect them to come in early next summer to get the kids signed up and reading.  That's great, I'm in favor of kids reading.  But if we're making exceptions for the center kids, I'm going to sign up my local neighborhood kids at ages 10 & 11; in fact, I'm going to sign up anyone who asks -- because they're special, too.  But mostly because the neighborhood kids are the ones I need to foster relationships with, so they are less likely to pose behavior problems in the library and more likely to pick up a book or magazine to read.

Over the 10+ years I've been at my current branch library, I have seen kids go from childhood to teen -- for better or worse -- to young adult.  One young man who was a regular breaker of rules is now in college and doing very well.  Another young man, who has the potential to go either way, seems to be moving in the 'right' direction. Girls who regularly tried to push our buttons now come in to get suggestions for books to read.  These patrons come back because the staff at my library has worked, hard, at being welcoming to everyone.  I am very proud of how well most of our staff does in dealing with the constant demands of our patrons.