LISNews: Librarian News

Maybe you've blogged about a disturbing patron, or posted something on a tumblr account about the not-quite-with-it daily visitor to your library.

From M (Michigan) Live: Former library assistant Sally Stern-Hamilton (under the pen name Anne Miketa) wrote a fictionalized book about about her experiences in the library and was fired for it. Now she's suing.

Stern-Hamilton’s literary work, entitled 'Library Diaries' — a disturbing look at life in the library — wound up on the shelves at Mason County District Library. It got her fired there as a library assistant.

Now the author has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the library violated her free-speech rights by firing her.

“(Stern-Hamilton’s) First Amendment interests, combined with the interests of the public, outweigh the government’s interest in the efficient performance of the workplace,” her attorney, David Blanchard wrote. “(She) was explicitly fired for engaging in protected speech.”

Library director Robert Dickson declined to comment. Attorney Kathleen Klaus, representing the library, Dickson, and Marilyn Bannon, president of the library board, said she would respond to the complaint next month. The controversy created headlines three years ago when Stern-Hamilton was fired from her job of 14 years.

"After working at a public library in a small, rural Midwestern town (which I will refer to as Denialville, Michigan, throughout this book) for 15 years, I have encountered strains and variations of crazy I didn’t know existed in such significant portions of our population,” Stern-Hamilton wrote in the introduction. -- Read More

...MORE LIBRARY COOLING CENTERS It's a hugely important function of public facilities like libraries...and what are they going to do when more of them are closed due to funding cuts?

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The Bits Blog online with The New York Times reports that programmer Aaron Swartz was indicted for allegedly stealing 4 million documents from MIT and JSTOR. According to documents posted to Scribd, the arrest warrant cites alleged violation of 18 USC 1343, 18 USC 1003(a)(4), 18 USC 1003(a)(2), 18 USC 1003(a)(5)(B), and 18 USC 2.

The Boston Globe summed up the charges stating:

Aaron Swartz, 24, was charged with wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer, and recklessly damaging a protected computer. He faces up to 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Activist group Demand Progress, of which Swartz previously served as Executive Director, has a statement posted. Internet luminary Dave Winer also has a thought posted as to the indictment. Wired's report cites the current Executive Director of Demand Progress as likening the matter to checking too many books out of a library.

(h/t Evan Prodromou and Dave Winer)

(Update at 1641 Eastern: The Register has reporting here) -- Read More

The first “Finals Night” at the Scarsdale Public Library did not go as planned on Tuesday June 15, when a stink bomb was thrown into the library drop box around 7:45 pm. The odorous contents of the bomb could be smelled throughout the library, and concerned staff called the police to report it.

According to SHS Junior Zach Edelman who was studying at the library at the time, the stink bomb smelled like garlic and onions and the fumes were tolerable. However, once the report was made, emergency responders arrived in droves and forced everyone to leave the building and wait in the library plaza. The area was taped off and those who had been inside were told that they could not leave the scene until HAZMAT workers could investigate.

Edelman reports that the stink bomb incident was treated as a full-scale emergency. In addition to police cars there were fire trucks, HAZMAT workers sporting gas masks and even an emergency spill team. The students waited 20-30 minutes for officials to arrive and were told that depending on the findings of the HAZMAT team, those who were inside the library may have to be decontaminated and showered off.

More from Scarsdale 10583.