Should have known it would be different this week, the signs were there in The News Tribune's frontpage. The prison has been on a two day lockdown over the weekend, when I get on the island, Monday, I am told that there won't be normal movement and the Library will be searched when they get done with the Hobby Shop, no stone unturned. So about twelve Corrections Officers come into the library and start searching through the fifteen thousand items on the shelves and in the cabinets and drawers, looking for contraband (tobacco, weapons, drugs, tattoo guns and inks, alcohol of strange variations). Hours later, they haven't found anything and are off to shake down the chapel. I had worked around them, answered their questions, shown them about the hiding places for barcodes and sensitive strips, demonstrated the security gate and exchanged "my thieves are better than your thieves" stories with the officers. The poor officer that had to search through some of the piles of cardboard packing material wondered how I was going to pass the inspection before the pre-ACA audit. I wasn't. It didn't help that nothing was where it should be, books in strange directions as they marked their searches, the floors trashed and chairs everywhere. I put much back but was moving mail and requested ILLs and answering email and reporting to my supervisors far away that it was happening - no reply. Outside the rain has been very heavy and constant, fears of flooding are building with the increase in rainfall. I go home to spend Veterans and Remembrance Day with my wife.
Wednesday, I return, it is still raining hard and I don't walk to the dock - my exercise thoughts have run away - at least something is moving, I don't seem to be. I have a crew and we start to clean up, catch up (socialization is mandatory), I mention the coming inspections and between everything else normal, getting the books for F-unit (Segregation and IMU) and sending ILLs out and answering the email we get ready to open after lunch. The inmate patrons surge in, having been kept out of the library for days, the two hours are hectic but rowdy and normal and then three inspectors show up, the Interior Captain, the Fire Captain and one other man from Headquarters, and they hit me hard. Daisy-chained surge protectors, unauthorized extension cords, not clean, not in compliance and not prepared for the audit next week. It is especially painful because this isn't the first time I have been told about the daisy-chained power cords - and I haven't fixed it. My bosses have told me to get DOC supply to provide, DOC says that they will, and no one has - but I haven't been vocal enough about the problem, so it is mine. The inspectors tell me to get everything fixed they would be back in three hours - it is the end of my day, I close down and say good-bye to the crew and slink home a failure again, except we did get the books to F-unit and served the patrons for three hours.
I sleep on my problem, I can sleep pretty well when I need to. When I wake I go through the morning events and pray harder, and leave my sleepy wife. I stop at a hardware provider and pick up two surge protectors of longer length and a face plate for a double socket. I get to the island and find the crew and lay out a plan, we work together and rewire the computers, rerouting cables and pitching ideas back and forth until it is done, recycling old cardboard, reorganizing storage, discarding hot trash, and destroying old worn, torn books, cleaning shelves and floors. Restoring organization to the library. We are aided by the sure knowledge that we aren't going to be open today. The Law Library is moving from upstairs to downstairs across the hallway from us. That means shelving and big giant books with lots of laws and tiny print. Too much for the normal Law Library clerks they have borrowed more inmate workers for the shift and no movement to the Law Library or regular Library by inmates is allowed. Sure enough the return promised by yesterday's inspectors does happen, and they are pleased to see we have improved everything they found, except the shelves aren't dusted yet - we would work on those cleaning things, washing the legs on the chairs and such - more to come tomorrow.
I am still working the computer, answering email, book and music requests and then comes an offer from our Program Manager to put in our ideas for our quarterly conference, and the other Library Keeper chime in, they have good ones. Then as the inspection team has departed and I have to send an email off about the better results to the Fire Chief, and I have talked to my Liaison, the Associate Superintendent for Programs about the ACA readiness and what I need to do and could us -- I stop and think about what I would like to discuss at the quarterly conference - and I write "I would like to talk about how little support I get in my work." or something like that. I am such a whiner, I do reply it to all, and I go to eat lunch. We continue to move hot trash and dirty rags out to the lower compound and back gate, do more cleansing of the library and shelf reading and organization - then it is the end of the day and I can look around and smile. If we can just steal a buffer and some wax and polish tomorrow we can really fix it up right. Well, I don't really mean steal, I mean borrow one just for the day. When I check the email I find two other Library Keepers that would like to say Amen to my comment or discuss the lack of support, and the Program Manager that would like me to tell her, in private, what I mean. I am such a whiner, but then all my buddies that help me get through the day, every day at work are all inmates, felons and you know what kind of guys they are. One of my crew is getting out just after Christmas this year. Telling the Program Manager means the Supervisor isn't in the discussion and that can't be good. Well, will sleep on that one tonight - they won't be ready to open my library tomorrow either.
Friday Update: Still not able to open, we went for the shining of the tile floors, cleaned it first moved all the furniture, secured wax and applicator and laid it on, four or five coats in some spots, it will dry firm by Monday, and we will put the library together again and open that afternoon and evening. Not too much traffic from other branch libraries, nor ILL requests, I made sure the overdue notices were printed and distributed, and moved mail and looked at books to buy. A nice quiet day, the crew and I were helped by a porter that secured the wax for us - favors, I get favors - just because... did stop over at the Law Library to see how they were coming along, they will be open by Monday if they don't get locked down again. Since it costs a lot of overtime for the special searches and lock downs, I don't think it will happen unless there is a real security threat.
2 comments:
Earl, it's not your job to do the Supe's job... If you've asked for help and not received it, then it's on the Supe's head, not yours. Sounds like the PM has some issues with the Supe anyway... Just my .02 worth
I know what you mean about thinking that you are such a whiner when you feel that you are not getting support. Our parents raised us to be very independent and not to complain when we didn't have help to do our work. Well, that's very good in most situations, but one has to learn to speak up in other situations. I took my courage in hand and asked the principal to insure that I would not be the only teacher monitoring the silent study hall during the activities period this week, since I was the only teacher during the last activities period. I hated doing it, but I knew that there were other teachers without clubs who were taking advantage of my general lack of speaking up for myself. The result this week? I had 2 other teachers and a guidance counselor monitoring with me. That allowed us to keep the students on task and to get some of our own work done at the same time. You aren't a whiner if you really need the help.
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