[Sca-librarians] Library Assistant fired over book

[Stefan li Rous]

Oh my.

The one who ought to be fired was the District Library Director. He  
complained that the patrons were too identifiable but he was the one  
who really identified the town and its inhabitants.

Maybe the town and its citizens are identifiable if you live in that  
small town or in the surrounding area, but he has just managed to  
identify his town to the entire world. I, for one, would not have had  
any idea where or who the town was. But once given this story and his  
quote I found quite a lot of info about the town within minutes.

Even the picture of the library wouldn't have been a problem since it  
could have been any small town library anywhere. And from the picture  
of the cover of the book, the cover looks fairly abstract anyway.

He would have done much better to have quietly shifted her over to  
some administrative, out of the public eye position somewhere, at  
least for awhile.  From the PR standpoint this was probably the  
exactly wrong thing to do.  Although it might be a blessing for the  
tourist information folks.  He may have some explaining to do when he  
applies for a new position if it has anything to do with PR.

I'm not a librarian, so I haven't had to deal with such patrons or  
small town politics, but I may have to put this book on my 'wish list'.

"She doesn't appear to be a professional librarian, even though all  
the newspapers are labeling her as one.". Well, your quote calls her  
a "library employee". Again, as a non-librarian, what is the  
difference between a "professional librarian" and a "librarian"?  
Having a degree in library science? The actual work done in the job  
at the library?

Stefan

On Aug 22, 2008, at 8:56 PM, Johnna Holloway wrote:

> In case you missed this news item-- " Librarian fired for book on
> unsavory patrons
>
> Associated Press
>     5:40 PM CDT, August 21, 2008
>
> LUDINGTON, Mich. - A library employee in this Lake Michigan resort
> community has been fired for writing a book that describes a range of
> unpleasant patrons, from the merely unpleasant to online sex  
> fiends, in
> a town she calls "Denialville."
> Using the pen name Ann Miketa, Sally Stern-Hamilton wrote "Library
> Diaries," which she describes as a fictional account based on her
> on-the-job experiences.
> "After working at a public library in a small, rural Midwestern town
> (which I will refer to as Denialville, Michigan
> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/us/michigan- 
> PLGEO100102800000000.topic>,
> throughout this book) for fifteen years, I have encountered strains  
> and
> variations of crazy I didn't know existed in such significant portions
> of our population," she wrote in the book's introduction."
>
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-librarydiaries, 
> 0,6451431.story
>
> The Ludington paper wrote on August 8th
> "Stern-Hamilton was notified of her termination in a formal letter  
> from
> District Library Director Robert Dickson July 25. In that letter  
> Dickson
> refers to a prior letter of “Suspension Pending Investigation” that he
> wrote to Stern-Hamilton July 15 in which he stated:
>
> “The cover of your book includes a picture of the Ludington Library.
> Each chapter is devoted to a specific library patron or patrons. Your
> book portrays these people in a very unflattering manner. You describe
> individual patrons as mentally ill, mentally incompetent,  
> unintelligent,
> and unattractive. You label several as ‘perverts.’ While you stop  
> short
> of naming the individuals you targeted in your book, your detailed
> descriptions of their unique characteristics and mannerisms make them
> easily identifiable in our small community.”"
>
>
> I would guess the publicity has helped sales as the book is out of  
> stock
> at places like Amazon.
> She doesn't appear to be a professional librarian, even though all the
> newspapers are labeling her as one.
>
> So who hasn't encountered weirdos in their libraries?
>
> Johnnae

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****