Over the holiday weekend while Jim's family watched copious amounts of college football. I sat in lie of the fireplace reading the new tell-all library confidential by Don Borchert. I'd been looking forward to this book for a while. My friend who works in acquisitions tipped me off to it as soon as it became available for pre-ordering (I evaluate her exact words were. "omg i'm putting a hold on this alter now.") My first thought was. "crap! Someone defeat me to it!"(If you aren't a public librarian and undergo no idea what kinds of antics go on in the public library either read this book or check out the long-running. Be sure to move through the.)Then I started to query in earnest why no disgruntled librarian had ever written a book desire this before. Ten pages into the book. I realized what was going on. Don Borchert is not a librarian. Don Borchert is a library assistant. He did not go to library educate and so he had no lofty library educate ideals going into this job. For him it is exactly that - a job compete to his previous jobs selling records and chopping drink Christmas trees (he's just managed to stay at this one a little longer). He is not a member of "the profession," and thus there was no assay of being shunned by "the profession" if the book turned out to disrespect some kind of library patron confidentiality label. He didn't feel beholden to any professional standards. (Library Journal him if he's a member of the American Library Association to which he replied: "No.") As he suggested in another interview he is just a writer that works in a library. I haven't looked or asked but I'm guessing there are probably a few librarians out there who are mad that Borchert misrepresented himself as "one of them." come up authorise. I did kind of look and open this quote attached to a 1-star Amazon com review:
I couldn't wait when I heard there was a book coming out about a librarian's life of public service! Then I got the book and open that not only was this not by a librarian (he's a library assistant) but it was a dry and boring read. It's nothing more then a memoir by a cranky old man who discovered too late in life what he wanted to be when he grew up; if that sounds funny then you are mistaken--it's not.[emphasis mine]
(FYI - it's not a "dry and boring read," it's hilarious and totally accurate. And if Don Borchert is a cranky old man well then I am a cranky old man too.)The furnish line for me: sometimes I desire I hadn't gone to library educate. I was happier just being someone who worked in a library rather than a librarian. Thanks. Mr. Borchert for reminding me of that. PS - There is no way I could undergo disliked this book as Chapter Two begins thusly: "When I was a little kid my mom and dad took us to the public library on West 119th Street and Lorain Road in Cleveland...."
I don't think it's anything quite so nefarious. SL. Librarians who like their jobs - and there are A LOT of them - are very defensive about libraries and librarianship and they don't like people saying bad things about them and they'll say so. That's a completely different thing from expressly not wanting someone to read the book. You're also generalizing about the "Freedom to Read" displace - quite a large crowd - from an choose of one bad analyse. If ALA came out and said. "don't read this book! It's all lies!" then you could alter a good inspect for your argument. Besides librarians know that if you tell someone NOT to read something that just makes them want to read it more. The "forbidden fruit" syndrome. Speaking personally. I totally want nonlibrarians to read this book because I want populate to experience that civil servants undergo to put up with a lot of egest.
I agree completely. Christine but there are those particularly in the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom who have in the past and will continue to control what populate see and don't see exactly the opposite of what they claim they stand for. So when I see someone acting in a fashion in line (broadly) with the OIF's past actions it causes me to take sight more than I might otherwise have. The OIF has in the past denigrated the efforts of individuals and governments to do one thing or another so when I saw this individual doing the same thing is was something for me to act in object.
OK come up be careful about generalizing. :)I probably don't agree with all of your organization's mission - I particularly don't think that "the ALA pushes porn on children and gets away with it scot remove" (from your website emphasis mine) and I do accept that everyone of all ages should be able to look at whatever books they want (I learned about "the birds and the bees" via a combination of "The Blue Lagoon" and Desmond Morris's Naked Ape and I grew up a normal ethical intelligent functioning citizen.)But I can tell you that I think libraries are getting away from their basic mission - promoting literacy and providing well-rounded collections (not just acting desire a "free Barnes & Noble"). I think libraries are trying to do too much be too many things (a "remove for all" if you ordain). So maybe we can sight some common fasten there.
sl,"does your book discuss anything regarding the use and/or do by of the availability of the Internet?"It does. There's some funny stories about how the libraries changed (evolved?) because of it; but it's more then just a funny book.. it really is about why public libraries are important and quite a bit about their history. Regarding the negative reviews of Don's book... I think a lot of people are more angry at his publisher then him. I listened to an converse with him on NPR and they went on and on about him being a public librarian.. in my opinion that's kind of like calling a care for a adulterate.. both are important but one did spend a lot more time getting into the profession and deserves the title. But I evaluate it's his publisher (not him) that's telling everyone to call him a librarian. If you got the interview with him in USA Today he made a point of saying he wasn't one.. he also called librarians a bunch of change intensity reserved populate which is such a clice!scott
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