Now I See You, Now I See You Not
I was in the library, looking for a book I couldn’t find. I looked up in the library site, the book was supposed to be available. I noted down the calling number, went for the search twice and still couldn’t find it. I memorized the first number, it was PS 356…., but when I looked up on the shelves, the books numbered were PS352, then PS357 the next. There has to be some mistakes, I thought. (Hah, the library has a flaw and I found it!) So I went to see the librarian, who was then helping a student logging in his library account.
Me: Kak, saya carik buku ni kat rak tadi tapi tak jumpe la. Lepas PS352 teros PS357. Buku tu dah pegi level bawah ke?
Librarian: Ye ke, meh akak cek dulu. (keyed in the calling no in the PC).Hmmm, buku ni patut ada lagi. Meh kite pegi tengok. We walked side by side to the shelves.
Me : Kalo buku tu tak ada kat rak yang kite carik tu, camane ye kak? (You guys made mistake, gotcha!)
Librarian : Hmm, maybe buku tu belom dipinjam tapi dah ada orang ambik
Me : (It’s either that, or you guys had misarranged the number, kan kan?)
I stopped at the shelves where I was looking for the book earlier. But the kakak librarian went on walking to the shelves next to me.
Me : Kat sini kak saya cari tadi (calling her to step back)
Librarian: PS3566, haa kat sini dik…
Confused, I went to the shelves she pointed, and there it was the book that I was looking for. I took it almost immediately, and thanked the kakak sambil tersengih-sengih. Well, I was very delighted that the book has not been taken yet, but feeling embarrassed all the same because it was me who actually in the wrong. I had been looking at different shelves right from the start, no matter how many times I look for it the book just won’t be there. The book has four initial digits followed by an alphabet, but I was looking at the three-digit section, which explains why I couldn’t find it earlier. And I felt worse because I thought I was so close to discover an error, an oversight in the library system, yet I was so far from doing so. My face must have reddened at the time, but this kind librarian just ignored my mixed expression and went on to say:
“Kalau calling number dia macam ni, memang confusing sikit dik. So kalo adik tak jumpe kat 356, adik cube cari kat 3560 onwards la la la….”
I am a fourth year student, of course I know that! When you cannot find the book you’re looking for, it’s either the book has been taken by someone else or that you are looking at the wrong section. The idea of being the very first person to note the mistake in books arrangement in the library was undeniably overwhelming, it must have taken away my reasons. Pardon my temporary delusion, never underestimate the system.
I think I was more impressed with the kindness showed by this kakak, in her course of explaining the books arrangement to me (Which is why I wrote this entry. Do you really think I would reveal my own foolishness? Well, that too maybe =P) Why the book is here, not at light reading section, the four-digit, three-digit numbering and so on. (I don’t think I could recall all that now, was too busy with embarrassment.) She could have just made a face, if not saying out loud that I am plain library-illiterate. But she did not, and she explained things to me attentively like I were a freshie and it was my first day in the library. (Now that I mentioned it, maybe I did look like one) But I know she did not make me feel stupid, almost felt like I was completing this super difficult brain-wrecking task and she was simply pleased that she could assist me. I was also thinking of hugging her you know, to thank her and for feeling sorry that I momentarily thought I am smarter than the system.
I like certain persons who work in that library: my badminton coach assistant who works there (who helped giving us all A for badminton II), this guy at law level who would drop whatever he was doing everytime a student approaches him for help, and new to the list, this kakak I am telling you about, working at level four. Those in the borrowing counter are quite nice too. (Used to like one abang fotostat there, but now minat kakak fotostat aikol yang indonesian-ish tu hihi!) I do think that some librarians are not co-operative enough. But these three can really make me feel the library is closer to heart. God bless you, amiin…
Dare to think, dare to speak.
