Death and Taxes

People say that there are only two things in this world that you can count on...death and taxes. I would like to add one more. You can count on the fact that people will drive you crazy about tax forms to the point that you want to kill them. (that's where the "death and taxes" allusion comes in)

Ever since I've worked in this library system, we haven't carried tax forms. Yet every year starting in mid-December, people start coming into the library asking for them. They get very passionate on the subject. I have to wonder why people need tax forms in mid-December in the first place. People aren't even required to send your tax stuff like W-2 forms until the end of January anyway. But people get very fanatical on this subject. You can try telling them that tax forms are available on the internet or that they can call to have them sent but people get very offended by those suggestions. "I thought all libraries carried tax forms! You had them last year!"

Uh, no we didn't.

Today's Dewey Diaries comes from another branch in our system that puts a new spin on this tax form irritation.

A woman called this library branch demanding to know WHY she hadn't received her tax forms yet in the mail. Well, first of all, we're not the government. And second of all, we're not the post office. So, why would we know where your tax forms are? The best part, though, is that when the circulation desk picked up the call and heard the question, they immediately transferred the call to Reference. Like the librarians would know where this woman's tax forms were.

So, People everywhere take note, we do NOT carry tax forms.