Conversations I had last week

With my library patrons...

Young boy: I'm looking for a book. The author is Nuff.
Me: Okay, do you know the title?
Young boy: No.
Me: Do you know what it is about?
Young boy: No. It has, like, a brownish cover.



Woman: Hi, I'm having trouble finding a book.
Me: Okay, which book is it?
Woman: Dante's Inferno.
(I know about The Inferno by Dante, but that there is also a Mystery novel called "Dante's Inferno")
Me : Is it a mystery novel? Or is it the classic book?
Woman: It's the classic book.
Me: Right, where he goes down into hell?
Woman: Yes. It's by someone called Lovett, I think.
Me: Actually... Dante's Inferno is by... Dante.


*note: We did find that Nuff book. It has a purple cover.
*note2: The woman had typed in "Dante's Inferno" into the Title Search field. That is a mystery novel by Lovett. But you'd hope that people who know about the classic book also know that it was written BY Dante. But I'm no expert on some things, either. As a good co-worker said, "When library patrons do things like try to locate materials by ISBN number instead of call number, I try to remind myself that I'm equally ignorant when working with services from institutions I don't understand."

Oh, this one is from January but I forgot to post it:
Lady: do you have the winceawards?
Me: sorry, what was that called?
Lady: the wince awards.
Me: wince?
Lady: Yes.
Helpful man next to her: The Winds of War