Library Vignette #4

So today Slipper Lady, who is at the library pretty well all day, every day, and changes into slippers when she comes in, complained to reference staff that there was a bottle of discoloured, dirty water on the table she wanted to sit at, and requested that we contact maintenance to remove it. Staff gently declined, informing her that people often left things on tables and came back for them later (often hours later), and maintenance staff do regular rounds and remove things like that after it becomes obvious no-one was there with it. She was quietly insistent, as she wanted to sit at that table. Staff said no, but suggested that she could sit there anyway as there were four chairs and the bottle was at one end. She declined stating that it could be contaminated with HIV or something. It was pointed out that other tables were empty, and she was welcome to sit at any of them. She insisted that she wanted to sit at that table.
Slipper Lady then left the reference department and went to the children's department at the other end of the building and asked them to call maintenance, and was once again told that they do regular rounds and don't remove things right away. Back she came to reference.
She then accosted one of the adult pages, who went to investigate. The page was told not to remove it.
Slipper lady then decided to remove it herself and put it on a bench nearby, with the sign "DO NOT TOUCH - MAY BE CONTAMINATED WITH HIV." She then spoke with another lady just in front of the table she requested. As they were talking, a tutor and her student came from behind Slipper Lady, and set up on the table she was after. By the time she realized that they were there they were all set up. She didn't say anything to them, but then went to a different table and sat down. The bottle was later removed by staff when no-one had come back after a couple of hours.