Xavier Bullwinkle writes: There are plenty of websites extolling the virtues of anti-authoritarian radical activist librarians, but the anti-authoritarianism seems to evaporate pretty quickly when the authorities are library administrators mistreating their own employees (unless the employee is named Berman or wears a nose ring). Their activism more frequently is directed towards safer (from a career standpoint) targets like John Ashcroft, the Iraq war, and Censorship.
So it’s encouraging to see some Atlanta-Fulton County PL employees promoting a radical remedy to the sort of injustice that most “activist librarians” wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.
From the AFPL Watch website comes the following:
An Appeal to Library Employees
This website frequently receives suggestions…. We received one suggestion recently that we now pass on for your consideration.
The suggestion is that staff should contact, and encourage other Fulton County taxpayers to contact, the two county commissioners who are also members of the Library Board of Trustees, asking them and their colleagues to fire Ms. Hooker at the August 27th board meeting.
Your first reaction to this suggestion might be of retaliation by Ms. Hooker should you contact a county commissioner. We remind you that communicating with elected government officials is a constitutionally protected exercise of free speech, and that retaliation for engaging in protected activity is prohibited. Frankly, it is difficult to see how retaliation could make any library employee’s situation any worse than what staff are enduring right now….
Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library President Bernard Margolis is responsible for the censoring of current archival city public records.
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.com
There are other North American cities’ public libraries that have censored their respective current archival city public records including the current archival city public records of the respective city public library department ironically. So called intellectual freedom advocate librarians have been adamant even when the censoring affects cities public libraries unions collective bargaining labor relations advocates ironically.
So much for that library and information studies curricula supposedly taught in graduate library studies programs!
Massachusetts. Cambridge Public Library.
Cambridge Public Library Director S. Flannery got rid of an assistant director clouded by questions of racial prejudice, discrimination.
Not replying to the above
but the posting protocol here is now confusing compared to the older lisnews.
Anyway, I am glad to see there are now library workers, especially librarians, finally growing some balls. These conditions are not unique to Atlanta-Fulton PL, by any means. MOST public libraries are like this for the staff.
Either library management cleans up its act, or librarians will no longer work in these environments. They will either leave the field or seek out non-public library work.
It is important that new librarians know what they are getting into *before* they get into debt pursuing an MLS.