LIBRARY LOUNGE

I know I am just a lowly, dues paying member of ALA who is not actively involved in any committees etc., but I still think I have the right to wonder and question why ALA has not officially condemned Cuba for its actions against Librarians and its book burnings. I read the heated debates about ALA’s responsibility in condemning the War in Iraq and it makes me angry that my professional organization is spending much time and effort on a topic that has little to do with the freedom to read while ignoring or refusing to get in involved in what is happening in Cuba which is in fact directly related to the freedom to read.

Mr. Hentoff has written another commentary criticizing the leadership of ALA and reinforcing the importance of libraries in America. ALA deserves this criticism and I am going to continue to support the librarians of Cuba.

Sweet Land of Liberty by Nat Hentoff

Mindy

James Lee Burke again give librarians the thanks they deserve!

From his new book (which is better than ever!), The Tin Roof Blowdown, page 355:
“Then I used the most valuable and unlauded investigative resource in the United States, the lowly reference librarian. Their salaries are wretched and they receive credit for nothing. Their desks are usually tucked away in the stacks or in a remote corner where they have to shush noisy high school students or put up with street people blowing wine in their faces or snoring in the stuffed chairs. But their ability to find obscure information is remarkable and they persevere like Spartans.”

Thank you Mr. Burke! you are the best.

Mindy

“Librarians are cool, not because of how we dress, what we drink, or who we associate with. Librarians are cool because our job is cool: We protect people’s freedom to seek out and find the information they need: All service and no shushing.” Huffington Post, Nicole Scherer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicole-scherer/librarians-rarely-make-th_b_55791.html

Nicole Scherer currently serves as the first Teen Librarian at the Fairfield Public Library in Connecticut, where she is working on developing library services for young adults. Nicole studied history and theatre at SUNY Geneseo, and received her Masters of Library Science in 2005 from Long Island University. She is originally from Bayport, New York.