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  • More library stuff..

    Since it's always a popular subject...and it's that time of the year...

    Young lady doing her taxes online at the library asks me for some help. I help her answer a few of the generic questions, but then she asks me to explain filing Federal estimated taxes. I told her that I couldn't help her with any questions related to tax information. She asked me why not, with a little touch of bitterness. I told her that I'm not qualified to help you with any tax-related questions. She seemed ok with that answer.

    I posted this because it never ceases to surprise me when people ask tax-related questions of librarians. I guess it's because so many patrons think librarians' are brilliant

    I did tell her that although I have been harangued by many internet posters, I could not provide a price break for any copies she required of her finished tax form.
    "I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."

  • #2
    Maybe she thought if she asked a lot of questions, she could get a discount.
    After former Broncos quarterback Brian Griese sprained his ankle and said he was tripped on the stairs of his home by his golden retriever, Bella: “The dog stood up on his hind legs and gave him a push? You might want to get rid of that dog, or put him in the circus, one of the two.”

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    • #3
      Not only should you not answer any questions, but doing so could -- could -- open you up to some liability. If I were making the policy, it would be, "you can find the forms here, but we are not qualified or allowed to answer any questions."
      “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
      -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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      • #4
        I bet she was just trying to hit on you
        I'm sorry, man, but I've got magic. I've got poetry in my fingertips. Most of the time--and this includes naps --I'm an F-18, bro. And I will destroy you in the air. I will deploy my ordinance to the ground.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Wonderboy View Post
          Not only should you not answer any questions, but doing so could -- could -- open you up to some liability. If I were making the policy, it would be, "you can find the forms here, but we are not qualified or allowed to answer any questions."
          The library does have a sign by the forms that says that.
          "I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."

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          • #6
            We don't even need to transfer the old stories over to the new site...everybody knows all crazy people hang out in libraries.

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            • #7
              Mith- how many people have you caught watching porn in your library?
              After former Broncos quarterback Brian Griese sprained his ankle and said he was tripped on the stairs of his home by his golden retriever, Bella: “The dog stood up on his hind legs and gave him a push? You might want to get rid of that dog, or put him in the circus, one of the two.”

              Comment


              • #8
                This is better than Mith....

                "You know what's wrong with America? If I lovingly tongue a woman's nipple in a movie, it gets an "NC-17" rating, if I chop it off with a machete, it's an "R". That's what's wrong with America, man...."--Dennis Hopper

                "One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real." -- Klaus Kinski

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Fresno Bob View Post
                  This is better than Mith....

                  What kind of discounts does she give?
                  I always liked Alfonseca and he is twice the pitcher Hall of Famer Mordecai Brown was - cavebird 12-8-05
                  You'd be surprised on how much 16 months in a federal pen can motivate you - gashousegang 7-31-06
                  "...That said, the hippo will always be the gold standard here" - Heyelander's VD XII avatar analysis of SeaDogStat 1-29-07
                  It's surprising that attempts to coordinate large groups of socially retarded people would end in this kind of chaos. - Cobain's Ghost 12-19-07

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Hammer View Post
                    Mith- how many people have you caught watching porn in your library?
                    Surprisingly few compared to many other libraries. In the last ten years I would say maybe a dozen or so patrons have been caught looking at adult-oriented sites.
                    "I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Can i get a tax deduction for a charitable donation when i make copies at your library?
                      “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”

                      ― Albert Einstein

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Mithrandir View Post
                        The library does have a sign by the forms that says that.
                        Well, then maybe you should follow the instructions on your own sign! You probably shouldn't even "help her answer a few of the generic questions." (Unless that means how to turn on the computer, etc.) Once you do anything other than point to that sign, you may be headed down the slippery slope.

                        Now, by that I mostly mean that once you start answering questions, people may expect more help. But if by generic questions you mean how to print the form, for example, then I think you are OK. On the other hand, if the generic questions are about the form itself or any questions contained therein, you are on tricky ground, imo.
                        “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
                        -Ralph Waldo Emerson

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by madducks View Post
                          Can i get a tax deduction for a charitable donation when i make copies at your library?
                          I think you can impute a charitable contribution for any expenditures above that which would have been charged by any sensible copying and printing institution that would offer volume discounts to customers and not just preferred donors and favorites of the management.
                          "Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.'"

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Kevin Seitzer View Post
                            I think you can impute a charitable contribution for any expenditures above that which would have been charged by any sensible copying and printing institution that would offer volume discounts to customers and not just preferred donors and favorites of the management.
                            The library is NOT a copying and printing institution. Any sensible person would know that.
                            "I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              It's not a humor institution, either.
                              "Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.'"

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