Yes, the dog really did eat the library book (there were many canines that could not resist the glue in the binding), a crow took off with it and pecked at the book in the rain three stories down from the balcony it was stolen from, and they also insisted they returned it, only to return it for real, rather sheepishly, some 30 years later.
These are only a few of the comical recollections of Candace Johnston, who spent the last 38 years at the Prince George Public Library's checkout desk.
Johnston, who was born and raised in Prince George, started by volunteering at the library as an elementary school student. When she graduated from college in 1977, she heard there was a position open at the library and when she walked in to see if she could put in her resume, the chief librarian, John Backhouse, interviewed her on the spot. She was hired and the rest is 38 years of history.
When Johnston started working at the library, it was located at 425 Brunswick St., where the Seniors Activity Centre is today.
"I spent part of my time typing up overdue notices in triplicate and putting them in the mail and phoning people in person to let them know their holds had come in," said Johnston.
Of course computer technology was the most impactful change during her career.
Back in the day, check outs were recorded on film that was sent out and developed.
"When you got it back there was a transaction number, there was information about the book you checked out and there was the card for the person," said Johnston. "So computer technology made a huge difference and technology continues to affect the library."
The changeover to computers took place in 1983 or 1984, said Johnston, and it started in the Nechako branch of the library in the Hart. It was smaller and if there were any bugs to work out, it wouldn't affect as many people there as it would at the main branch.
"Now you've got digital books," said Johnston, who recalled a time when everyone but the chief librarian had to shelve books three times a day.
"When I started we had the audio visual department which carried the LPs. We always had to check carefully to make sure they weren't scratched and the heat was a huge factor because the albums would warp. We were pretty excited when we got cassettes."
Johnston was warned when she started her job at the library that people burn out pretty fast and leave after two or three years because the work is so repetitive.
"I proved them wrong because there are so many different people who you are talking to across the desk who need help with one thing or another and their stories are so diverse and their ages are so diverse and the people who you are working with are the same," said Johnston was in charge of scheduling, hiring, training, and all the regular duties that came with being at the checkout desk like lending out and taking back materials, signing up people with library cards and collecting their overdue fines, duties that never changed during her career.
"It was a great career, a great place to be and a great place to come," said Johnston, who is moving to Kelowna to retire.
"It's such a social place now for everybody. Libraries are wonderful and I don't think they are ever going away, I think they are just always changing."
