President Obama Freezes School Library Funding in 2010

President Obama may talk about the importance of libraries, but now that his budget is out, librarians are wondering, where’s the love?

Full story at School Library Journal

May 13, 2009 by Uncategorized 30

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30 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:
    May 13, 2009 at 2:46 pm

    Obama
    Obama = Bush

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 19, 2009 at 6:29 pm

      Back it Up
      Do you have anything to back up this comment? That is a very strong, oversimplified and uneducated statement. Obama has been very different especially in terms of the environment, separation of church and state and women’s rights.

      I certainly hope you’re not working as a librarian.

      Reply
      • Anonymous says:
        May 19, 2009 at 8:53 pm

        >I certainly hope you’re not
        >I certainly hope you’re not working as a librarian.

        Anyone that said that Obama=Bush could never work as a librarian.

        What if they said Obama=Messiah?

        Reply
        • Anonymous says:
          May 19, 2009 at 10:18 pm

          The same goes for people who
          The same goes for people who make overt generalizations without backing them up.

          Reply
        • Anonymous says:
          May 19, 2009 at 10:30 pm

          I’ve never heard anyone say
          I’ve never heard anyone say “Obama=Messiah” anyway. What kind of imaginary fanatics do you hang out with?

          Reply
          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 5:02 am

            Never
            Run a google search for obama and messiah. There are political cartoons, discussions, etc…. Thousand of hits that are about Obama being the Messiah. Many of these articles and political cartoons are in mainline news titles.

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 5:37 am

            Satire!
            I did the search. I also did a search for “David Hasselhoff + Messiah” and got many results too. Oh, ever tried “Bush + Messiah?” Even more! What is your point?

            These are satirical websites. Nobody is SERIOUSLY claiming Obama or Hasselhoff are messiahs. Bush, on the other hand….well, that’s for a different post.

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 5:56 am

            Messiah / satire
            Satire is which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. The Obama/Messiah idea is not satire. The messiah idea is because there are a large number of Obama followers that are not critical of anything he does. He can do no wrong, he is their messiah.

            If Bush did policy X these messiah followers would scream. Evil bush is doing policy X. But if Obama does policy X the messiah followers say, “Wow we love policy X.”

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 5:59 am

            Obama / Messiah

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 6:01 am

            Political cartoon

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 6:02 am

            Another messiah political cartoon

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 3:40 pm

            Yeah yeah yeah
            I have seen these political cartoons. I know others exist, so there’s no need to barrage this board with it.

            What I am trying to do is ask for proof of people who seriously claim Obama is infallible. I read and hear (deserved) criticisms about some of his policies (or failure to block some..i.e. Reagan’s journalism legislature, torture photos, polar bears, etc.)

            These cartoon artists are making the same biased generalizations you are, except they can draw.

            I am not even defending Obama. As a librarian, I am just sick of people (especially librarians who should know better) making any statements without backing them up.

          • Anonymous says:
            May 20, 2009 at 4:11 pm

            Yeah Yeah
            Was refuting the comment that someone made that they had never heard the Obama messiah comment used. Clearly it is all over the place. The political cartoons and drawings show that the idea is being used.

  2. Chuck says:
    May 13, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    a little help
    Try reading the whole newspaper next time.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 13, 2009 at 5:10 pm

      Why?
      Why? What point was missed?

      Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 15, 2009 at 9:28 pm

      Not sure what you read…
      It seems cut and dry to me. Most of my fellow librarians would agree, too.

      Reply
      • Anonymous says:
        May 16, 2009 at 12:54 am

        Cut and dried
        What is cut and dried? Obama is not raising the funds for the “Improving Literacy Through School libraries program.” If Bush did that librarians would be flipping out but because the messiah is doing it there is no problem.

        Reply
        • Anonymous says:
          May 16, 2009 at 2:38 pm

          I am AGREEING with the
          I am AGREEING with the article in SLJ. I am taking issue with the person who said “read the entire newspaper.”

          Reply
          • Anonymous says:
            May 16, 2009 at 2:39 pm

            sorry, last message cut-off…
            When I said cut and dry, I meant that I don’t know how anyone could read that article and interpret anything different.

          • Anonymous says:
            May 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm

            i agree with you
            i hear you loud & clear. ~robert

            u a school librarian?

        • Anonymous says:
          May 16, 2009 at 3:04 pm

          hmmm…
          i see exactly what this commenter meant. i am not quite sure i understand your post. i think you misinterpreted what the “anonymous” person was saying. i took what he said as a rebuke to the commenter who said *read the whole newspaper* it is crystal clear what he meant. ~robert

          Reply
  3. Auntie Nanuuq says:
    May 13, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    I Can Read!
    The first full paragraph states: “The president is proposing a slight funding hike for public libraries through the Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA)—but he’s keeping monies for the Improving Literacy Through School libraries program at $19.1 million, the same level since 2008.”

    http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6657608.html?desc=topstory

    >^..^<

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 16, 2009 at 2:41 pm

      ugh
      As a school librarian, I am irked.

      Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 16, 2009 at 2:57 pm

      Here, here!
      Indeed, where is the love for school libraries? This hurts the students. As the ALA points out: “education is not exclusive to the classroom; it extends into school libraries.” We are teaching staff at our schools. As an elem. school librarian and media specialist, I do a lot of teaching and collaborating with teachers. Freezing moneys for the ILTS program affects what we do.

      Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    May 14, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    Talk
    Obama is all talk and little action when it comes to libraries. Hopefully people will remember actions speak louder than words.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 16, 2009 at 2:50 pm

      hi
      I am just as frustrated with President Obama, but want to point out that McCain would have been no better. President Bush, Jr., of course, was far worse when it came to support for libraries. Politics as usual, eh?

      Take care!

      Reply
  5. Anonymous says:
    May 19, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    A little biased, aren’t we?
    He’s keeping the school library funding at the same level, but raising public library funding. Public libraries can be seen as an extension of public schools. He is doing the best he can with the circumstances he inherited. No, I didn’t vote for him, but I didn’t vote for McCain either and the latter wouldn’t have done a better job.

    I thought as librarians, you would be more objective.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous says:
    May 19, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    Objective
    >I thought as librarians, you would be more objective.

    That’s a laugh. Objective librarians? Please. We are slaves to the liberal elite.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 19, 2009 at 10:20 pm

      Clarify.
      Clarify.

      Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      May 19, 2009 at 10:25 pm

      People sure like to throw
      People sure like to throw that “liberal” word around. What the heck does that mean anyway? Help me look it up…Oh wait, I’ll do it myself:

      From Princeton.edu’s Wordnet:
      •S: (adj) liberal (having political or social views favoring reform and progress) •S: (adj) liberal (tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition)

      So…how does this contradict with the principles of librarianship? “Librarians” here seem to be very resistant (dismissive, even) to different points of views.

      Can someone here explain to me what a librarian is?

      Sincerely,
      a lowly MLIS student under age 30

      Reply

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