Sticky Wickets, or things they don't teach you in library school

I"m going into my 29th year as an educator this year---9 in the classroom, and headed into my 20th year as a school librarian.
I've worked in elementary, middle, and now high school as a librarian.
You might say I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly throughout the years.
Through it all--the good times and the bad--I've always firmly believed I have the best gig in the universe.  I love what I do, and I have a true passion for it.

I had a brilliant professor in library school named Betty Carter.  She used to talk about how meeting difficult characters or situations in a book before you met them in real life was so helpful to young people because it gave them the chance to think through it and figure out best ways to handle it ahead of time.  I hope that you will read this list in much the same vein.  Especially for all my new-to-the-library friends, this is not a list of mere complaints, but a list of possible scenarios for you to brainstorm about so that when you meet them, you aren't caught unaware and you react in the best, most positive way possible This is a list of just a few of the hard things that every librarian will more than likely face in their career.

1. It is not only your classroom but is typically a large common gathering space. Y'all, grown folks will forget about the "it's your classroom" portion of that sentence on the regular. They will have meetings and leave their chairs in new & interesting places, leave half-finished and then forgotten water bottles about, and that bit of the candy wrapper that fell on the floor will live there. You will come back from summer break to likely find that random items have been placed in your space. And maybe one of your coffee tables will end up with a broken leg and left to sit sadly on the last three, with the splintered leftovers of the broken leg laid right on top like a sad testament to what once was.

2. You will likely find yourself wondering why are those grown folks bringing in that giant sheet cake and party balloons over there about 30 minutes before school is out on a random Wednesday when you have nothing on your schedule and no one has told you, much less asked you about hosting a shower in the library.

3. You may find yourself hosting your book club in the cafeteria one week because the library was needed for an administrative meeting they forgot to tell you about.

4. An entire class may end up in the computer lab that was reserved for another teacher.  You know, because no one was in there right when the bell rang, so...it looked like it was empty for the day, right?

5. You watch a teacher dump out a box of "treasures" she no longer finds useful while looking directly at you and informing you she wanted folks to be able to take some free stuff.

Yes, these are all actual things that have happened.  And yes, they can be irritating.  You may question, on those days, whether or not you really are better off leaving the house or not.

As irritating as these things can be, I give you some tips that I have learned through trial and error work for me.  Know that I have to revisit this list often myself.  I have not yet arrived, friends.  ;) #workinprogress

1.  Breathe deeply.
2.  Keep breathing until you are no longer eye-twitchy.
3.  Remind yourself that even on its worst day, in its worst moments this gig is truly FABULOUS.
4. Be kind.  Not nice, but kind when you handle the issue. Brene Brown does a most excellent job of going through the difference between "nice" and "kind" in her book Dare to Lead.  Excellent read.  Highly recommend. 
5. Handle the issue.  Again, with kindness. If you just suck it up and don't say anything you will likely stew over it and it will fester.  Festering is never good.  Handle it with kindness and firmness with the person in charge of whatever slip up occurred.  Handle it the way you would like someone to approach you on those occasions when you mess up. It happens to all of us.  
6. If you are feeling screamish, go back to step 1. Seriously. None of these infractions are worth stressing to levels that affect your health. None of these infractions are worth losing or damaging a work relationship. I urge you ----Don't type that email, don't storm into that office, don't vent in the teacher's lounge until you are calm and rational. In fact, don't vent in the lounge ever. Period. It just isn't a good look. 
7. When you are ready, educate the people on your expectations. Even the grown folks.  
8. Ultimately, in the larger scheme of things, everything is the small stuff.