More teen programs and jerks

Wow, this is going to sound whiny...but no one showed up to my second teen program :( This time it was "Green Teens." We were going to "learn tips and tricks to becoming environmentally conscious, and eat organic snacks" (that's from the advert). I spent a long time compiling a list of things teens could do to be green, and devising a recycled craft involving used CDs. I waited for about 20 minutes and no one showed up. Only one girl had signed up, our regular, and when she came into the library an hour later I pretended to be mad at her. She had just forgotten; not her fault, but I was disappointed anyway. Maybe the summer is just a bad time to have teen programs; lots of people are away on vacation. Maybe things will pick up once school starts again. I also think our location has something to do with it; we do get quite a few teens normally, but it's hard to drum up enthusiasm for programs at our small branch. I made a bunch of posters advertising my book club today and plastered them all over the library...maybe that'll help. And I've petitioned to have them at another branch in the future.

On another note: I'm tired of how volatile some patrons are. The slightest thing can set some of them off. Yesterday I was filling out a library card for a man, and I was trying to emphasize to him that we need proof of his current address. He thought that if his old address was on his drivers' license, it should be good enough for us. I don't think I was mean about it, but apparently he thought I was being unreasonable, because he snatched his card off the desk, stormed off saying "Jesus f---ing Christ," and slammed the door as he left. Why do people completely freak out over such tiny things? I can't help our library's policy of wanting proof of address. In fact, I usually bend that rule, telling patrons that I'll get them a card if they promise to bring in proof next time. I was GOING to tell jerkwad, but he didn't give me the chance. Incidents like that are really discouraging, and afterwards I hid in the back room for the rest of the day.

Things that make me go "Hmm..."

A woman came up to the desk asking for books on fire for her son. My reference librarian instincts kicked in, and I asked if he had to write a report for school, or if he wanted information on becoming a firefighter. The answer to both was negative, but the mom said "He saw a program with a firefighter, and now he has an obsession with fire, playing with lighters and burning paper," etc. She kept repeating this. I found a few books on fire for them, but do I really want to encourage the little pyromaniac?