Frybread & laughter

Sarah made me laugh. Several times. It's fun to work with people that make you smile.
Gayle, support services librarian


On Wednesday, we had fry bread. That is all. That is enough!
Hillary, librarian


One small good thing for most people isn't small at all, really. It's working with people you like, who make you laugh, who share their homemade fry bread in an impromptu Indian taco potluck lunch.

I know this isn't specific to libraries. For most people in most workplace settings, your co-workers make an enormous difference in your daily life, for good or ill. (Just watch any permutation of "The Office", or read the sad, funny novel "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris.)

But there is something about working in a public service (truly: people-serving) setting -- what some writers call "emotional labor" -- that makes you crave small moments of laughter and connection with your fellow comrades in action.

There truly is nothing better, nothing more important, than sharing a lunch and inconsequential, freeform talk (what did you think of Russell Crowe's performance in "Les Miserables", where are you going on your next vacation, did you see that Adam Ant is coming to Cain's Ballroom) with friends who happen to work with you, particularly when you have spent hours and days and even years together, absorbing the anger and frustration and sorrow and problems of many people you encounter in a library.

(I haven't written much about this aspect of public library service, because this is a project about small good things, but trust me: there's a lot of unhappiness out there in our world, and librarians get a front view of much of it. Not as much as, say, critical-care nurses or shelter workers, but more than you might imagine. We do a lot to alleviate the pain and heartache of what we see, and we also often feel quite powerless to do anything at all. It's often a see-saw of emotion that can go dark fast.)

So, before I fall into morose reflection, let me return to the joy of being surrounded by friends as you work -- for knowing that Sarah (or Rebecca, or Peter, or Tim, or Rosemary) will always make you laugh, that the best frybread-maker in your department will, at least once a year, casually mention that hey, she feels like bringing in some homemade frybread; who wants to have a great big loud wonderful lunch and talk about nothing much at all but give you a moment that is all?

Well. That's something pretty big.