Comments on: The People’s Library…Again

By: Mandy

Mandy — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:02:44 +0000

Hi,
I just noticed your blog post about the People’s Library and I wanted to introduce myself: I’m Mandy, an MLS holding, real job having, OWS librarian. I wanted to touch base since I enjoy and respect your columns, but I think you have misunderstood both the purpose of the library (especially during the occupation) and who we People’s Librarians are. Your pile of free books on a table is my open and welcoming commons–one that I used to connect readers to needed information, including, most importantly, readers who would never have walked into a public library. I also was able to offer materials specific to the movement that were of interest to casual visitors. It was, and is, indeed a library. We have professional librarians, we have a curated collection, and, most of all, we had dedicated patrons. Second, and this gets to your misunderstanding of the point of allowing ourselves to be raided–yes, some police are thugs, but we put books in parks because that is where are our patrons are. We do not a have a building, we only have what is open to the public. For us, going to where our patrons are and serving them there, serving them in the time and the place that they needed us, is how we serve the movement. We also act, in part, as the intellectual common of the movement. Where we set up, people gather to talk politics, to share stories, to debate with each other. That is as fundamental a part of who we are as the community room in your local public library. Setting up books and creating space for discussion does indeed change quite a bit– it offers space within the movement, it offers a comfortable point of entry for those curious, and, most of all, it reaffirms the deeply held values of the movement as a whole.
Mandy

By: Cathy

Cathy — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:39:40 +0000

Some of the people involved with the People’s Library hold an MLS and have the right to call themselves Librarians. In any case, the People’s Libraries are more symbolic than “real”. It is the idea of the library as the ultimate protector of personal freedom. The first time I visited the Occupy encampment in Rochester, New York, I saw several people who I recognized or recognized me from the library. And I don’t even work at the Central Library, but at one in the suburbs. The people’s Library may be the only library some people can get to if they don’t have transportation or any money for public transport. Or they may not be welcome in the city libraries due to being homeless and smelly. Really, the People’s Libraries were/are an homage to the power of free thought and free speech represented by the Public Library.

By: dragons redemption

dragons redemption — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:12:54 +0000

that just seems so pointless, however setting up a book stand for a few hours one day in an area that is highly trafficed by people could be a good way to premote reading and local libraries, could be a fun event.

By: Midwest SciTech Librarian

Midwest SciTech Librarian — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:51:49 +0000

If they really want to be taken seriously as librarians, they had better start donning their sensible shoes, a cardigan over the shoulders, attaching their eyeglasses to a chain, and pulling their hair into a tight bun…and don’t forget to start shushing the crowd in Union Square Park.

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:24:08 +0000

*Golf Clap*

Well said. Using the name ‘librarian’ for this shallow practice demeans the profession.

By: me

me — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:36:49 +0000

What is wrong with Howard Zinn books? Every library should have them…

By: hyp3rcrav3

hyp3rcrav3 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:48:49 +0000

PS The dirty hippie stereotype is such shallow thinking I can’t believe it is still promoted. New York Observer “Former Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis Joins With Occupy Wall Street Protesters [Video]” http://www.observer.com/2011/11/former-philadelphia-police-captain-ray-lewis-joins-with-occupy-wall-street-protesters-video/
Open your eyes.

By: hyp3rcrav3

hyp3rcrav3 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:46:11 +0000

If you had bothered to look at the selection of books in the Occupy People’s Library You’d have noticed the Bible and even books by Sean Hannity were included. Many people who would not normally have gone to a library were introduced to literature and it has improve their lives and therefore society as a whole. There are also books that aren’t normally available. How many of you have even heard of this book? The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR by Jules Archer This is not a “conspiracy theory’. It was poven in Congressional Committee. One last thing, I but you haven’t read a Howard Zinn book have you?

By: Baxter

Baxter — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:00:06 +0000

Dear Dirty Hippies,

New York City already has THREE huge public library systems. We don’t need your stack of Howard Zinn books. Thanks!

By: Jean Costello

Jean Costello — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:59:43 +0000

Or weeding :)