UUGH! Damn law students... (rant)

[huskerlaw]

It's bad enough that I have to work on a Sunday, and even worse that I had to work at the Circ desk for an hour while the normal worker took a lunch break, but then...the damn law students! Seriously.

I used to be one myself. I realize it's finals week, but come-the-fuck on, kids. Here's the situation. There's a book that an entire class needs in order to either write a paper or study for the final. The library has one copy. Why the idiot professor set it up so that an entire class would be fighting for one book during the same week is beyond me, but anyway... So there's a list of students waiting for the book. They can check it out for 2 hours at a time.

So the girl who currently has it comes up to the desk and asks to renew the book. I tell her there's a hold on it, meaning that someone else needs it, so no she can't renew. She gets all pissy and starts complaining about how yesterday she had waited 5 hours to get the book and she sure as hell wasn't giving it back until she was done. I apologized for yesterday's inconvenience but said that I couldn't renew the book, that she had to return it and put her name on the list if she needed it again. She says, "Well, the book is upstairs and I'm not returning it. I don't give a shit if someone else needs it." I look at her with disbelief. She continues, "Look. I need it. I'm keeping it. And you all don't give fines anyway, so it's not like there's a penalty or anything."

I reply, "That's true. We work on the honor's system. We figure that you all are mature enough to handle the rules. Of course, some people are more honorable than others."

She rolls her eyes and walks away, saying "I'll return it when I'm done."

The title of the book? California Guide to Professional Responsibility. Yup, legal ethics. Maybe I should let her keep it since she obviously doesn't have any of her own.

:banghead:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Yeah but holy fuck! You only have one copy of THAT in a

law library? Tell them all to drive down to Santa Ana and study :D Hell....I think San Bernardino has 3...

[huskerlaw]

2. Well honestly

I don't know if we only have one copy (that's totally not my area), but regardless, they're all checked out and there's a big ole list.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. It does sound like a hassle for you :(

[huskerlaw]

7. Not anymore :)

I'm happily back in the correct part of the library (ie, NOT the circ desk) and I'm going to report the bitch to the Director. By this time tomorrow it won't be my problem AT ALL. ;)

[eyesroll]

3. Eek.

If ever end up with a professor who sets the books up that way, I wonder if it would be considered unethical (or just bad form) to buy two copies of the book -- one for myself to use, and one to rent/sell to others to make my money back.

[huskerlaw]

5. Yeah, I'm not

too thrilled with the professor either. Although I'm wondering if it wasn't a little ethics experiment...see if those soon-to-be lawyers know how to share their toys. Answer: No, they totally don't. And they're assholes about it.

[Dangerously Amused]

6. Jeebus. Doesn't anybody there use Lexis or WestLaw?

[huskerlaw]

8. They all do

but when you're reading hundreds of pages of text, it's not so convenient to do so on a computer screen.

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. But you can print for free on Westlaw and Lexis.

At least you could at my law school.

[Dangerously Amused]

11. Mine too.

I'd spend forty minutes printing the damn thing out and then have a copy all to myself for however long I needed it.


:shrug:

[huskerlaw]

12. Sure, they could

but an entire book? Although, it's Westlaw's printers... :evilgrin:

[philosophie_en_rose]

15. Westlaw and Lexis deserve what they get.

Although they make a mighty fine laundry bag, coffee mugs, and stocking stuffers. :)

[philosophie_en_rose]

9. My thoughts exactly.

If I really needed the book that badly, I'd copy or scan the parts that I needed. :eyes:

And haven't they heard of Amazon.com?

[huskerlaw]

13. Well...

these are the same students who steal the library's ethernet cords because they're too lazy and/or cheap to walk literally next door and pay $5 for one at the bookstore.

I have a hard time thinking it's the $5, since most of them drive shiny new BMWs...

[philosophie_en_rose]

14. Talk about Honor Code Violations.

Just what a law student needs after allegedly studying all quarter.

[salin]

36. did that plenty of times

time funciton - and also I tend to prefer to mark up the text in order to process what seems to be most important - and to be able to come back to those parts quickly. Given the 'ethics' part, I wonder if copying sections crosses certain lines?

[GOPisEvil]

16. She's preparing for a career in corporate law then?

:evilgrin:

[huskerlaw]

18. I'm fairly certain

she's wanting to clerk for some Republican on the House ethics committee. Alas, swiping a book for the afternoon isn't nearly nefarious enough.

[philosophie_en_rose]

20. My professors make it clear they won't tolerate this kind of shit.

But I sure as hell wouldn't tolerate it from a fellow student. If anyone asks for the book, be sure to point them to the book hog.

[huskerlaw]

22. I can't.

The patron check-out records are confidential. I can't tell a student who has the book.

However, I can tell the library director, and I intend to tomorrow. Thankfully, he's very good about following up on matters like this.

[philosophie_en_rose]

27. Academic Karma will kick her ass someday.

If not, a fellow student will see her with the book and confront her.

[huskerlaw]

31. That's my theory too

I almost said as much, but stopped myself. Not that she would have cared.

[GOPisEvil]

21. Ugh - that's even worse.

:puke:

[huskerlaw]

23. I was kidding

I have no idea what her aspirations are. ;)

[GOPisEvil]

24. Well, she's certainly selfish enough to be a Republican.

;)

[huskerlaw]

25. That was my thought

:evilgrin:

[SOteric]

17. Heh. Maybe you should provide the professor

with a list of the students who've been less than ethical and honourable about the use of the book.

[huskerlaw]

19. Can't...

unless the professor's an agent for the Department of Homeland Security, the LAPD, the FBI, or Donald Rumsfeld. The patron check-out records are confidential.

[Jazz2006]

26. Unreal.

In a related law library story...

When I was in law school, some students would actually go around the law library moving books to different areas so that other students couldn't find them, presumably on the theory that if other students couldn't locate them, the idiots would have an advantage.

Fortunately, the library staff was very good at sorting things out - but it could be pretty frustrating sometimes.

[huskerlaw]

29. Oy. I've never heard about that here

but I can imagine it.

Meanwhile, it's nearly 4 hours later and she still hasn't returned the book. :mad:

[LostinVA]

28. I'm sooo glad I'm in Tech Services now

I was Circ Manager for two years... that drove me over the edge into Tech Services. I am never, ever leaving it.... no matter what happens....

[huskerlaw]

30. I can see why

I'm a reference librarian and was just filling in so the circ worker could go to lunch. One hour was more than enough...I'd strangle the little brats (most of whom are older than me, but I digress...)

[LostinVA]

34. I used to fantasize about torturing them... once I had some little

punk who was supposed to graduate, but had over FIFTY BOOKS still out, and thus was told by the bursars office she couldn't graduate. So, this snotty kid looks and me, ans she says: "My father is a state representative. He'll have your job for this." I looked and her, said, "Big deal. It's against NC law for him to do that. Why don't we call his office and tell him what you said?" So I did. OMG -- he told her off on the phone, she burst into tears, and apologized. giggle.

The final straw: When a guy came in and asked me to page his wife because the bitch hadn't cleaned the house before she came to the library to study. When I refused, he said he would kick my ass after he kicked hers. I called Campus Police.

I went into Tech SErvices soon after...

[huskerlaw]

35. OMG

I could so see something like that happening here. Most of the students are very nice, but quite a few of them are so fucking entitled.

Ah well.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

32. My dear huskerlaw!

That is infuckingcredible!

Glad you won't have to deal with this tomorrow!

Ethics? Give me a break, already!

I'd strongly suggest that FINES, and hefty ones at that, be applied, retroactively!

Well, of course, that's not practical, but fines in the future are!

:rant:

[huskerlaw]

33. We actually just got rid of fines

and I agreed with that decision at the time. No sense treating adults like children, after all. And most of the time, it works great. The students don't freak out if they're a day late turning the book in, we don't have to play library cop...

But it's very close to finals, and all sense of decency goes out the window.

I'm reporting it to the Director tomorrow and trust me, he'll be good and pissed...and he'll deal with it. Since it's a first offense, I'm sure all she'll get is a verbal reprimand, but if it ever happens again, she'll have problems.