Computer Login For Dummies

I think I'm just getting immune to some of the crazy things that happen in the library, because I don't seem to have a ton of stories to tell. But get excited, for today I have a pretty good one to share.

I am sitting at the information desk just chatting with the ladies I work with when a man (mid 30s) comes up and asks for some help with his computer. I didn't really understand what he was saying, all I got was "When does the computer read my card? Why can't I get on the internet?" and something else about email. He had an accent and his speech was a little garbled so I just went with him to see what the problem was.

When we get to his computer he says "Here, I inserted my card into the computer. When do I know that the computer sees it?" The library itself is pretty high tech, but not enough to have individual bar code readers on every computer. The computers are all networked and most of them don't have a CPU (tower for those who don't know) so I was a little stumped. There is however some sort of a disk, like 3 1/2" floppy disk drive hooked to the keyboard. Any guesses where he put his card? Yeah, not only did he put it in the disk drive, he pushed it in far enough that my fingers could not grasp it. So I had to get tweezers and pull it out. Then I watched him type in his card number and access the internet and then I walked back to the desk chuckling and grinning all the way.