Comments on: Google Print: Worse than the Patriot Act!

By: Ruth Ellen

Ruth Ellen — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 15:03:11 +0000

Um, that would be Thackeray, not the periodical.
-R

By: Angel

Angel — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 20:59:24 +0000

Hey, you should see some of those cereal boxes. Forget the nutrional stuff, which is important (ok, maybe don’t forget it). Some of the games and stuff they put on them. Some of them require some serious concentration. Not to mention the directions to send out for X or Y free (or not so free) offer of whatever trinket they may be promoting. A lot of reading when it boils down to it.

Got a smile out of the cereal management idea, because I get the feeling, somewhere out there, there is someone with the job title of “Senior Cereal Manager” or such.

By: Ruth Ellen

Ruth Ellen — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:36:58 +0000

I grew up reading the backs of cereal boxes. Both of my sisters did, too. We were all night owls and not ready to talk first thing in the morning, so it gave us something to do at the breakfast table. My oldest sister, the accountant with three Master’s Degrees, now reads things like Vanity Fair for fun. My middle sister is an adult education teacher (but has only one Master’s Degree and a couple of certificates in addition to her Physical Therapy License) and I’m a librarian (the piker in the family - only one post-graduate piece of paper). But… we all read Harry Potter, so I guess reading cereal boxes didn’t give us such a good start in life, eh?

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:12:48 +0000

Besides, cereal management is very important in our profession!

By: Angel

Angel — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 14:04:49 +0000

Hmm, that is a good question: what is wrong with reading the backs of cereal packets? Here I thought that reading the labels of the food you buy was a good thing, you know, watch what you eat and all. I guess I have to ask too, ALA says “Read,” just not the labels on the food?

By: Genny Engel

Genny Engel — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 00:58:50 +0000

What I wanna know is, what’s the matter with “reading the backs of cereal packets”? Does ALA now have to change all the “READ” posters to say “READ … unless it’s cereal”??

By: Angel

Angel — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 18:59:28 +0000

And then the “older librarians” wonder why is it the “young guns” have it in for them? With a comment like he won’t be going to jail at his 64 years for anyone dealing with an issue of intellectual freedom, it’s no wonder. He should not worry though, I am sure there are plenty his age who would be willing to stand up for what is right. And if not, plenty of us on the younger end willing to do it. Also, I have to agree with other commenters. The guy represents the organization; he is a very public face. He really should be thinking before he opens his mouth because he should know reporters and others will actually pick up on stuff like that, then use it against the rest of the profession. Just a thought.

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:02:38 +0000

“This kind of stuff?” I take back what I said about taking back what I said. Oh well, 334 shopping days until the new prez takes office.

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:45:16 +0000

Everyone with a lick of sense knows that sound bites are often all that you get out of an interview. If Karen surmises correctly, that Gorman got some PR training, he should be fully aware that people are going to focus on all of the crazy things that come out of his mouth. Is it so hard for him to realize that the rest of the world is not academia and even in academia, research does not occur in the way he supposes? Would it really kill him to be positive about technology in the press?

By: Mark Lindner

Mark Lindner — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:31:39 +0000

Glad to have you “back” Karen!

If we want something to really critique, what about his comment that he’s not going to go to jail over patron privacy?

Eli pointed it out 1st, that I saw, from an Aussie interview. Today’s Library Link of the Day has the same story from The Boston Globe.

I can’t even begin to fathom why he would state that publicly before an event actually happened. How are our patrons supposed to trust librarians at all now if the president of our (US) main professional organization has already gone on record as stating he isn’t going to stand up for them? I’m just baffled over this one.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m a 64-year-old academic librarian,” he said. “I’m not going to go to prison over that kind of stuff.”

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/24/library_leader_questions_patriot_act/