"User Barred"...

We just moved to a new city and one of my first tasks was obtaining a library card (as I promised my husband I would keep my book buying under control). This library is also far larger than the system in my rural hometown and so each night I go on-line and request different books. Then they are delivered right to the drive up window of the library around the corner. Seriously, the drive up window at the library is the greatest idea ever, as I discovered when I attempted to browse inside the library with my 16 month old twins. It was an epic fail and I left without a book that day. (Drive-up window = lifesaver).

Last night I sat down with my list of books, went on-line to my account, and starting looking up my newest picks. I then clicked the "hold" button only to have a big read box show up that said, "user barred".

You, have no idea how much this devastated me. I immediately, tried again thinking perhaps I mistyped my log in information. It must be a mistake, how could they bar me? I have never had a late book (at this library), heck I've only been using this library for a month. When my second attempt resulted in the same angry red box, my next plan of attack was to scour the website trying to see what kind of offensive I could have committed to be banned from placing holds, or checking out books.

This search was to no avail and I sat defeated in my chair. My husband looked at me and asked, "Why do you look like you're going to cry?"

"Marcus they've barred me from the library. Why would they do that? What did I do? Do you think they found out that I still haven't returned a book from ______(my rural library)? Maybe I'm on some kind of wanted list?" (I was being a little dramatic).

Marcus laughed and shook his head at all of this (especially the notion that there's some kind of library connection out to bar those with late returns from using any library in the state).

Since it was Sunday evening I had no recourse except to send an email inquiry and hope that it was all some big mistake. Then I went to bed...

This morning at work I was checking my email and noticed that my newest amazon order had shipped... the only problem was I had no memory of placing the order.

Turns out when I get barred from the library I order books in the middle of the night with no memory of the event.

Luckily, after several panicked email correspond the bar has been lifted and all is right in my book checking out library world. (And hopefully that will end late night amazon orders that I don't remember).