http://search-engines-web.com/ writes “
Library workers and students from the Radical Reference project and sympathizers–including a retired librarian–protested Laura Bush this afternoon as she had lunch with Republican delegates at the New York Historical Society on Central Park West. The protest group of 8 librarians and their friends attempted to greet Laura Bush as she arrived at the Society. The police forced the group to the sidewalk across the street from the back entrance to the building (employees of the Society had been asked to leave the building for the duration of this special event).
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=0
Naked lesbians
There was an editorial in one of the left coast newspapers literally begging naked lesbians to stay home and not do anything foolish at the convention in NYC to give the Republicans any ammunition about the fringes of the party. I guess they should have said something to librarians. Sorry I don’t have the link. I smiled when I read it and moved on [no pun], but you can google.
Yesterday a reporter at Fox said a protestor was interviewed about what it was she was protesting, and she said she didn’t know because no one had given her instructions yet. So, I guess it isn’t even necessary to be naked or a librarian to act stupid in front of the cameras.
Students?
Library science students were protesting? WHAT? Don’t they have homework in cataloging to do or something?
The LIS programs those students participate in must not be too demanding then perhaps?
Radical Librarians?
It seems that groups such as the “radical librarians” and SRRT and the like want to give the impression that they speak for the profession and its ideals and traditions. Politicizing our profession on a national scale only hurts us and at a time when library use is on the wane is disastrous. We have the privilage and right in this country to have different opinions. When radical groups take to the streets to make their opinions heard they give the impression that there is no free speech or outlet for differing views. These radical librarians do not speak for all of us. Some of us have no problem with filtering, CIPA, patriot act etc. It seems that radicals are not intrested in expressing a viewpoint but rather to sway public opinion. The library and librarians should not be the source of imposing opinion. Librarians serve the public and make resources available so that Americans can arrive at their own opinions and judgements. Where does it end, public access to pornography, unlimited access to children of inappropriate materials, defamation of allies such as Israel in favor of terrorists who threaten our society as well. Radical Librarans, sounds like a buzz word for a group that does not want dialogue but prefers an unrestrained, borderless society.
Re:Radical Librarians?
That we all have personal agendas may need to be said: that we strive professionally to provide the information sought by a patron without comment on its moral value should be another thing that doesn’t need repeating. And yes, sometimes it is hard to bite the tongue and not make caustic reference to some attitude or informatino we find personally offensive. Perhaps we do it by suggesting the patron look at the background andhistory of the material. Should we be neutral about the way “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is posted on the internet as equally valid to all other historical information?
We take our values to the job and to the political process in which our public facilities may be situated. How many of us would confess readily to which “side” of the election campaign we wish to order books to support. Budgets are limited and, after all, the books seeking to sway votes will be out of use save as historic fodder for election propaganda by mid-November. With shelf space limited how much of the material will be of value save to researchers who may locate it from a source with more dollars and shelving?
If we favor open access to all persons for all material we will have gone a long way to helping maintain a democracy, even with the Patriot Act out there.
Re:Students?
Yeah, they should really be working on their theses.
What? Oh, sorry. Nevermind.