Because the outside book return portion of our automated check in machine has been broken for several days, I was wheeling an empty cart out through the snow to an inconveniently located exterior return box. And while I was pushing this bin, through an unplowed car return lane, I passed by our disabled return slot and read the sign we had posted over it. "Book Return is being serviced. Please advance to the manual return box"
Just because one anticipates something happening doesn't mean that it is happening!
Our book return is broken. It is not being serviced! We merely hope it will be serviced, much like we hope, say, Santa Clause will visit and give all the good boys and girls gifts.
It's December fourth! Santa is not currently dispensing gifts! One merely hopes he will in the near future.
But as much as I might enjoy continuing to harangue my library for its hideous use of language, the truth is less insidious, although possibly sadder. The reason we did not have a sign that said something like "Our automated book return is not working. Please advance to the manual return box" is more likely because whoever put up the sign grabbed whatever they could find that was remotely applicable to the situation.
The truth is that so much is broken around my library these days we're probably out of "Broken" signs.
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