15 Helping People Every Day

I hoped the lack of a shave would probably help, and I'd messed up the hair a bit, before going in the first time. There wasn't much to be done about my clothes, they didn't shout respectable OAP, but neither did they hint at Library Computer User
    • Type A (Dosser),
    • Type B (Conspiracy Theorist) or
    • Type C (Parish Council Chap With A Knackered Printer).
Even so, the woman behind the counter made sure she'd be able to describe me in detail, although she didn't ask to see my borrowed ID. She didn't even comment on my messenger bag. No-one sat in front of any of the computers.
'You can have an hour, please allow time for printing within your allotted session. Are you in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance, Sir? If not it will be 5p per sheet of A4.'
'Can I just extend the hour by logging in again?'
'I'm afraid not. You'll have to come to the desk again and I'll allocate a free terminal.'
'What if no-one else comes? Can't I just stay where I am?'
'Computers are to be used in one hour time slots. Should you require less than an hour, the terminal will remain unused until the hour is up. Don't worry, no-one takes less than an hour to do anything. The equipment is quite old. It is all recycled, for green purposes. We bought it from the Post Office.'
It sounded like a prepared speech. To tell the truth I was more perturbed at how much the woman looked like my old primary school teacher. She had worn those cat-eye spectacle frames and since her name had been Beveridge, we'd called her Edna Beveridge.
'Terminal #1 is free, Sir.'
They all were. The woman didn't move as I went to take my seat. I felt her eyes on me all the way to the cubicle.
I typed in John Smith's name and pin. A welcome screen assured me I was a valued client and then proceeded to list all of the things I wouldn't be allowed to do on the computer. I clicked to say I'd read and understood the list. A further screen displayed 'Are you sure?' I clicked the button marked 'Yes' on that screen and on the next one that read 'Quite sure?' There was a great deal of disc activity but not much of it was reflected on the screen. Five minutes of my hour gone and I hadn't achieved anything. Finally, the desk-top screen was on screen. The browser was 'Chrome', which was a bit of a surprise, but I was looking for something else. The shortcut to Ancestry.com Libraries Edition. It was there, but there wasn't much else displayed on the desk-top. I double-clicked on the icon and got exactly the result I expected.
                     

                      Account Name:
                      Hastings Library Services
                      Password:
                      ________________________

I got up with a sigh and proceeded to walk over to the desk. 'Have you locked your terminal, Sir? You must lock the screen or sign out altogether, if you leave your work-station unattended.'
There was nothing to be gained by underlining the fact that we were the only two people in the room, if not the whole building, for all I knew. So I turned back and tapped CTRL-ALT-DEL and chose the LOCK option. The screen saver read:
Hastings Library Services.
Helping People Every Day,
In every way!
Back at the desk, I noticed that Librarian was wearing a badge. 'Ms E. Beveridge, Senior Custodian'. Quite why a Library needed a custodian at all was a mystery to me.
'I need a password, for Ancestry.'
'Of course, Sir. That will be £10 pounds.'
Of course it will, I thought, but didn't say, as I handed over the banknote. I didn't bother to ask for a receipt, either. She handed over a slip of paper folded in half. I only had three-quarters of my hour left.
Back at the terminal, I hit the three magic buttons again and selected UNLOCK. The System Log-in Screen appeared again. After answering Yes to "Quite, Quite Sure" this time, due to an extra splash screen, I typed in the Ancestry password.