Sometimes a pen name isn’t cover enough, a Michigan librarian has learned. The publication of her controversial book, “The Library Diaries,” written under the pen name Ann Miketa, resulted in her termination as a Mason County District Library employee after 15 years on the job. She is appealing that firing. She 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.”
No one supposed to know?
Okay, she’s going to publish a book, but not expect anyone to find out about it? Please.
I have to get this book
Library patrons are frequently mentally ill, incompetent, perverts, and even more frequently that is all rolled into one.
I have to read this book.
I have an 85% rule. 85% of the people you meet on any given day will be crazy or morons. It was 50% when I first posited it in 1983. I think it might be time to push it to 90%.
Self published
>>Okay, she’s going to publish a book, but not expect anyone to find out about it? Please.
The book is a PublishAmerica book which basically means it is self published. If she didn’t spread word around her local community about the publication it is very likely no one would have found out about it. Her other mistake was having a picture of the library as part of the cover art.
Here is the book on Amazon. At Amazon in the review section for the book a feisty debate is taking place.
The book is managing to sell some copies. The sales rank was 14,000 last time I checked. Not bad for a PublishAmerica book. As soon as the book is out of the news the sales rank will probably plummet.
published is published
Published is published, no matter how many people see it. Published puts it out there so anyone, or no one, could see it. She should have expected it to get back to her employer sooner or later. And a maiden name isn’t that secret of a pseudonmyn.
Now, should she have been fired for it? Many get fired for publishing blogs or for their myspace/facebook content. Is it right?
Other articles
Here are some additional articles about the situation.
Librarian writes tell-all book, gets fired: ‘The absolute irony is that the public library is a pillar of free speech’
LIBRARIAN FIGHTS FIRING OVER TELL-ALL BOOK
at will
“In Michigan, employees are presumed to be “at will.” At-will employees may be terminated for any reason, so long as it’s not illegal. Generally, employees who work under an employment contract can only be terminated for reasons specified in the contract. In Michigan, in order to overcome the at-will presumption, an employee must show that the employer made clear and unequivocal statements of job security to the employee.”
It could be a professional ethics issue
If individual patrons truly are easily indentified by their depictions in the book, it becomes a patron privacy violation. There may even be descriptions of borrowing habits. Defending that but then continuing to argue against allowing other forms of access can become a PR nightmare.
It also sounds like she loathes a high enough proportion of her patron base that it’s not the job for her any longer regardless.
The book must have hit a tone with someone
While I understand the cover picture usage of the library as apart of the issue. The content was meant as examples of how she viewed things in the library.
Glad to know that Librarians get frustrated too! Several million points to the good for writing. However, Several thousand points back for the cover art with the rest coming back for not having someone ghost write with her to keep her stories from identifying anyone in particular.