One of our librarians complained for years that our local newspapers were a
   day late because they came in the mail. We couldn't figure out how to deal
   with home delivery, because we knew they would be stolen if thrown on the
 driveway. It seems too much to expect to ask a librarian to pick up a copy and
 bring it in, so I sympathize with T. Sanders not wanting to go by the drug
 store. We finally solved the problem by installing a book drop just for the
 newspapers. We are able to get three papers placed in the book drop: our town
 paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York times. This seems to work
   well. We don't have a problem with the delivery people. When the library is
 closed, as we are for a week at Christmas, they just pile up in the book drop.
   Everyone is happy with the new system.

 I think if there are services which were provided by someone who has left, and
   no one wants to do it any more, someone will just have to tell the person
 gently that that is the case. As it happens, two staff members in Serials save
   stamps for a man who comes in from the community for them periodically. The
 staff members love doing it for him, and have even found some rare stamps from
 places we never heard of, which was fun. But if they left and no one wanted to
 do it, we would just have to tell him we were sorry but we couldn't do it for
   him any longer.

   Here's one I'll bet will shock you. We have a local man who became a
   quadriplegic playing football. He is famous around here and comes in the
   library a lot in his wheel chair. Everyone loves him and he gets a lot of
 special help from the staff with micro printers and anything he needs to reach
   that he can't. He graduated from here a few years ago and got a standing
 ovation at graduation. Well, one of the staff members told me a while ago that
   the women at Circulation empty his urine bag when he asks them to. I was
 morethan a little surprised. That seemed above and beyond the call of duty,
 but I guess I was proud of them for being able to do it (I'm not sure I
 could). Last
   week I actually witnessed one of them doing that for him.

   So I guess my feeling is, if someone wants to do it, whatever it is, more
 power to them. If no one wants to perform a particular function or "special
   service", then the patron just has to be gently told so.

   Christina McCawley
   Serials and Acquisitions Librarian
   West Chester University
   West Chester, PA CMCCAWLE@WCU
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