[Publib] A hard-hearted bunch

[julie at 4bauers.us]

Thanks, Joe, I was thinking the same thing but you are more articulate.

I worked in a small library with a terrible, incompetent, and possibly dishonest director.  Our staff was excellent, but we felt slowly crushed.  Any complaints were supposed to go through -- you got it -- the director.  Our concerns were belittled and misrepresented.  It's hard to convey how powerless you come to feel.  And yes, we were all sending out our resumes, but it's not always so easy to find a new job.  Fortunately, the director retired and we got a wonderful new boss.

It sounds like the staff and management at Sacramento are carrying around years of bad feeling.  When that happens, it's very difficult to set it right without massive outside intervention.  The "popular materials" thing is probably a symptom more than a cause.

Gerald is right that understaffing can lead to danger for staff, patrons, and less importantly, the building and collection.

Julie Bauer
Collection Development Librarian
Loudoun County Public Library
Leesburg, Virginia



----- Original Message ----
From: Joe Schallan <jbsphx at cox.net>
To: publib at webjunction.org
Sent: Monday, June 4, 2007 4:09:11 PM
Subject: [Publib] A hard-hearted bunch

Publibbers,

I have to say I'm truly surprised at the beating
Gerald Ward of Sacramento Public Library is
currently taking in this forum.  In fact, "shock"
may be a better word than "surprise."

I'm in no position to take sides in the dispute
in Sacramento, nor would I do so, but the
complete lack of empathy here astonishes.

In 1992 a coworker and colleague (office
next to mine) was gunned down in the driveway
of her home by an obsessional ex-boyfriend.
As near as we all could tell, I was the last
person to talk with her:  We chatted for ten
minutes or so in the employee lunchroom
before she headed off home.  She was
bright and had a lovely disposition, coupled
with a strong work ethic and desire to
contribute.

Unlike Mr. Ward's situation, this didn't happen
in the workplace, and yet I can personally
attest to how wrenching it was for all of us
who worked with her.  The next morning, our
conference room was filled with 75
shocked people, most weeping, including
the vice-president in charge of our division.
Not only was a young life (she was only 32 and
about to complete her B.A.) pointlessly
snuffed out, but a fiance, a mother, and siblings
were devastated.

I can't imagine having two of my librarian
colleagues gunned down at the reference
desk.  I'm fairly sure that, unlike Mr. Ward, I
would not be able to continue working in my
library, and he and his colleagues who
carried on are to be commended in the
highest terms.

I also offer my condolences to Mr. Ward and
his colleagues for their loss.  I don't imagine
they'll ever get over it, and I do imagine that
no amount of security will ever seem like
enough.

I think in these circumstances a dismissive
wave of the hand and the assertion that "it
is like this everywhere so get used to it"
shows appalling insensitivity.  No, it isn't
like this everywhere and, no, sorry, you
can't get used to it.

Nor should you be expected to get used
to it.


Joe Schallan
Phoenix

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