[Publib] Dismay and worse

[Tina Branco]

And may I second Sheila's thoughts that those of us who have different
tastes may not necessarily be dunce-caps.  I really resent the arrogant and
somewhat insulting tones this particular topic has been spewing.  As public
librarians we have two duties: 1) to provide informational and entertaining
materials to our patrons (i.e., what they WANT) and 2) to be able to advise,
refer and point them in the direction of other options we may not own in our
local libraries.  OUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES don't count.  I may not like a
particular politician, but I have an obligation to be able to point my
patron to relevant, (and hopefully well-written) information when asked for
it.  In other words, we don't write them, we don't publish them, but we darn
well  need to be aware of what's out there, and be able to provide it or at
least point a patron to it.

 

Just because something sells, doesn't mean it's junk. Just because I can't
stand Graphic novels doesn't make them junk, nor does it mean I shouldn't
consider having some available for my patrons.  And just because some
attorney /librarian says it's junk doesn't make it so either.  On the other
hand, just because my patrons like an author and keep asking for more,
doesn't mean that writer's  going to win a Pulitzer.  There's lots of room
between the two.  So, in the interest of being professional, can we please
stop insulting people whose taste is different from our own?

 

 

Tina Branco

South Thomaston Public Library

tbranco at south-thomaston.lib.me.us

 

 

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Sheila Hammond-Todd
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 2:15 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] Dismay and worse

 


May I point out - as someone who enjoys reading both non-junk and junk,
depending on my mood - that, just because you have not heard of or do not
like an author, that author's writing is not necessarily "junk?" ; )

--- On Thu, 12/4/08, Backwage at aol.com <Backwage at aol.com> wrote:

From: Backwage at aol.com <Backwage at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [Publib] Dismay and worse
To: KOkelly at minlib.net, publib at webjunction.org, NEWLIB-L at usc.edu
Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 8:58 AM

In a message dated 12/4/2008 7:47:50 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
KOkelly at minlib.net writes:

And I will admit that I sometimes love the idea of banning books.

The problem with banning books is that they never get the right ones.  Ever
notice that they tend to try to stamp out good reading, on the whole?  

 

I come from the last days of the era when librarians had genuine opinions
about book quality, and voiced them.  That didn't keep me from reading the
Ripley's Believe it or Not series, but it did let me know that:  1. Somebody
knew I was reading junk, and 2.  They thought I was worthy and capable of
reading better.  

 

I think those days are gone, not so much because of the official views of
any association, but because librarians as a whole aren't as literate as
they used to be.  Give me the days when they had tough entrance exams for
library school, complete with long reading lists that applicants were
expected to have understood.  An old mentor of mine, out of UCLA's first
library class, said that she was interviewed deeply, and in a definitely
hostile atmosphere, about her past and present reading.  Mind you, she had
Master's degrees in French and Comparative Literature.  I don't suppose we
could demand that today.  

 

I've always riled my colleagues by saying that there are stupid questions
(the vast majority) and there are worthless books (same here).  The attorney
doesn't question whether his client robbed the bank; he just acts as an
advocate.  And the important part is that the attorney doesn't support bank
robbery, and he couldn't be employed if he had ever robbed a bank.  See how
that works?  Much of the defense of lesser books arises not so much from the
support of patrons as from the lack of suitable background in the librarian.
And, of course, that old professional lack of a sense of humor which plagues
many of us.

 

M. 





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