Before we move on to muzzled Canadians, I wanted to thank a kind reader for sending in a screenshot of a library computer where the Annoyed Librarian was blocked from view because the filter considered it pornography. Kind Reader commented, “Yeah, filters work alright.” Many a librarian over the years has wanted the AL closed down so that no one would be allowed to read it. Maybe one of those librarians has some sway with the filter company. A conspiracy? You might very well think so, but I couldn’t possibly say. But now on to another odd story making the news here in libraryland: muzzled Canadians! They’re not really muzzled, so don’t fear for their physical safety. They’re metaphorically muzzled. No, that’s not quite right, either. They fear being metaphorically muzzled. I have that fear, too, although it’s nothing compared to my fear of being metaphorically tied to a railroad track by Snidely Whiplash. Nevertheless the fear is real, and the metaphorical muzzle is ...
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The strangest news in libraryland last week had to be the story of the young man in Racine, WI who was caught openly masturbating in the Racine Public Library. “As a condition of [his] bond, he was told to ‘stay out of all the libraries on the face of the earth,’ according to court records.” There’s a lot that’s strange and unpleasant in the story, besides just the fact of some 20-year- old deciding that a library was the best place for him to do this particular business. It seems he was taking the “sexy librarian” theme to its logical, if inappropriate, conclusion. Perhaps the Racine librarians are just that sexy, in which case he could argue that it was instead their fault. Being told that he now has to stay out of all libraries on the face of the earth is comical in itself, but especially bad for the young man if he has a librarian fetish. If that’s the case, he’ll have to find a workaround. Regardless, depriving anyone of the benefits of libraries is cruel ...
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It’s always a little weird to see librarians acting all unlibrarianish. Last week there was the library employee in St. Louis who left a comment on this blog that notified the world of the library card holding status of a specific person named in a news article. So much for privacy! Now comes the result of a lawsuit against yet another public library in Missouri motivated by some pretty bizarre librarian behavior. Someone at the Salem Public Library wanted to read about Native American religions, Wiccans, and other crazy topics that no God-fearing Salemite should ever want to know anything about, but she couldn’t get past the computer filters, which were apparently set to block “occult” sites. The librarian wouldn’t remove the filters, so she sued. Finally, a sensible lawsuit against a librarian. The ACLU victory statement has the best quote: The resident had originally protested to library director Glenda Wofford about not being able to access websites about ...
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Universities just don’t know what to do with librarians. Are they faculty or staff or some weird combination of both? Librarians often want to be faculty members, even though they don’t teach, do less research and publishing, usually don’t have PhDs in their field, and have more traditional work schedules than the real or teaching faculty. Comparing the two, it’s easy to see huge differences, but librarians want to be faculty because of the status. On other hand, librarians aren’t quite like other university staff, either. They are often engaged in research and publication, active within professional communities, and have educational interactions with students. Many are academic dropouts with significant education and credentials. In a lot of libraries - especially in state universities - librarians often have faculty status and in many other libraries have a similar process of rank and promotion, even if they’re not specifically faculty members. While faculty ...
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Someone allegedly from the library in question commented on my Public Libraries and Private Parties post from a few weeks ago. Part of the comment clarifies the facts, and part, well, I’ll let you see for yourself. Here’s the comment: As an employee of the library in question, I would just like to say this: the aggravated patron’s story was somewhat skewed, as he stated he was told to leave the library, when in reality, he only had to leave a particular section of the library that was being used to set up for the event. This patron was not a resident of St. Louis city, and therefore his property taxes don’t directly fund the library. In addition, it turns out said patron does not even hold a library card with St. Louis Public. I’m pretty sure I found an online notice that the library was in fact being closed for a private event, although it’s certainly possible this person was only being asked to leave a specific section of the library, at least until the party ...
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What exciting times we live in for people who don’t like public institutions. They must be having a lot of fun watching public institutions and the common good slowly wither away as budgets are cut. Those people must think trends like advertising in libraries is a positive step towards a brighter future. There are examples, like a San Diego library program where businesses can purchase memberships that entitle “them to advertise on the window of a library building.” This is supposedly a “win-win” because “the library receives money and businesses receive invaluable community exposure.” No possible loss to library integrity there! The Toronto “public library sells advertising on its due-date slips,” because when look at that and realize your book is overdue, you’ll be in a good mood to respond to the ads. My favorite is the claim that “a library in New York has reportedly adopted ad-supported toilet paper.” Talk about going where the users go! In ...
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