Apparently Steven Bell likes to position himself as controversial, or perhaps he likes to be a “curmudgeon.” Have you ever noticed that curmudgeons are always male? But I digress. To me, Bell’s recent LJ piece about the Obama keynote, now circulating the blogs, was as refreshing as warm, sour milk.
Pardon me, Steven me laddie, but it was both fitting and necessary that Obama praise librarians for their work on the Patriot Act. You ponder, “I left Barack Obama’s opening keynote wondering when ALA will develop some backbone and seek out a keynoter who will challenge, anger, or confront us.” As a veteran of the Internet filtering wars–and they were, at times, brutish and nasty–and as one of the first public commentators to write about the Patriot Act, which in January 2002 felt like going way out on the edge of a limb and then jumping off, I happen to prefer it when the intellectual-freedom instincts of most librarians are affirmed, gladdened, and anointed. But if you feel differently, why not run for ALA president on the “Ashcroft is my Keynoter” ticket? I’m sure John can do a good job deconstructing everything we believe and know in our sturdy little librarian hearts.
What would it take to make you happy? Should we rend our garments and wail that our catalogs suck and we are not particularly good at outreach? We already do that every day on umpty-ump lists and blogs, and we did it in quite a few programs at the conference. Should we have, not a keynote, but a Great Expiation, where we kneel in shame at our failings? That will certainly refuel the directors struggling to improve budgets and increase access.
I’m not sure what a “shopworn Patriot Act cliche” looks like, but let me trot out a few cliches myself. I was there for Obama, and he was as crisp and fresh as a cool breeze off the bay, as warm as a cup of hot chocolate, and as affirming as the sun rising on an Easter morning. Sorry he didn’t float your boat, Bell, but Obama, for me, was a just-in-time keynoter.
Posted on this day, other years:
- To be cool is to be young and male? - 2007
- The RFID Blog Revives - 2006
- Urban Legends Top Searches Feed - 2004
- Bloglines Improvements - 2004
Thank you Karen! It is important that, as librarians, we can get praise for the work we do in the world. We tend to see only our obstacles at times and it is beautiful when a person in power stands up and says what we do is important and just. I loved Obama’s speech; I left with a feeling of pride in my profession and strength for the battles ahead.
Jane
I wasn’t there, but from the sounds of it the speech was well worth it. I did read Mr. Bell’s piece as well as this one. Steve Cohen of Library Stuff also had a reflection on Obama’s speech and Mr. Bell’s reply to it (http://www.librarystuff.net/2005/07/bell-didnt-think-obamas-keynote-was.html). I found it interesting because Mr. Cohen and Mr. Bell spoke to each other about the address. Like them, I like the idea of being challenged, but I also like the idea that there are places and moments when you need to simply have some validation and celebration of what you do. It seems to be conferences are the places to celebrate what we do, showcase the best our profession offers, and get some energy. We get enough challenges in our workplaces, and while I don’t always see eye to eye with ALA, I am sure they get a lot done in those committees and in their advocacy. Can they do more work? You bet they can, but once in a while, it is a good thing to enjoy the good things. And I even enjoy having all of you: the curmudgeon, the veteran of the campaigns, and the ones who call for balance. In what you do, you both challenge and celebrate our profession.
Have you ever noticed that curmudgeons are always male?
Not true!
Rebecca Loudon,
Professional Curmudgeon
“I left Barack Obama’s opening keynote wondering when ALA will develop some backbone and seek out a keynoter who will challenge, anger, or confront us.”
So says Bell. OK, so he wasn’t a keynote speaker but did Bell *not* see the PLA-sponsored President’s Program featuring David Sedaris?
I’ll bet this story made more than one librarian squirm a bit in his/her seat:
“… my mom used to take us and drop us off at the local branch. I went into the bathroom and I walked in on two men having sex. And that’s something I had never seen before in life. There were no books about homosexuals at the time either, remember. So every time I felt alone with this feeling, I’d think, ‘Oh, but there are those two guys from the library, too.’ It was probably the best thing I ever learned at the library.”
from: http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives-2005/literaturevol14ed21.shtml
Nice work, Karen!
And I MISSED that? ARRGGH! Now I *am* rending my garments! I wish I had been there to see the faces in the audience!
Count me in as another who appreciated Obama’s talk. He was articulate, affirming, and informed & concerned about topics near and dear to our hearts: the Patriot Act, improving literacy rates in low-income neighborhoods, getting more books into more kids’ hands, and freedom of expression.
As I wrote on another site, I was even inspired by the life stories of the award winners, hokey promotional videos and all. We could do worse than emulate such ambitious folks. I’m sure there were political maneuverings behind the selections …. sore losers, shattered egos, and who knows what else. I’m just waiting for someone to shatter my illusions about the winners. Seems even librarians are not immune from snide observations, back-stabbing, and cynicism.
But I tried not to think such thoughts at this, my first ALA convention, and my first-ever experience of sitting in such a HUGE room full of fellow librarians.
I came away impressed with the event organizers and proud of my profession, and what’s so bad about that?
Just want to point out that Curmudgeony Librarian (http://www.lisnews.com/~Curmudgeony/) is a lovely person. I met him at the OCLC bloggers do. His comments on LISNews are usually dead-on. We need another word to describe Steven B.