#$%& budget

Here at OPLIN, we have deleted quite a few e-mail accounts. Supervisors are e-mailing and calling in, sometimes tearfully, to report that they had to let someone go to meet demands of a new budget.

It’s difficult when a patron’s favorite staff member leaves, whether it’s under good conditions or difficult ones. Someone will miss the person who helped them find a job, learn to read or inspired them to check out something way cool.

Those of us left behind are also in a period of mourning. We relied on those staff members to smile at us when we were having a bad day, to make the best coffee or to handle the difficult patrons. They are still our friends, but things will now be awkward between us.

While we may be grieving, we need to remember it’s about the patrons’ disappointment, not ours. Just as with all other aspects of library service, those staff members were not ours….they belonged to the customers.

And they will be missed.

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