It’s only one month into his regime, and I’m already wincing. An interview with Michael Gorman gives the impression his goal for the year is ensuring that “The Education for Henry Adams” isn’t digitized.
The sad part is I’m sure during the interview Gorman spent far more time talking about the Patriot Act than about his concerns about “atomizing” books, but he sounds so fascinating when he spouts off about Google–it’s like watching a Model A rumble down the street–that any red-blooded journalist is going to focus on his anxious and Pleistocene musings.
The annoying part is who the hell gave Gorman a mandate to kvetch about Google Print, anyway? Quite a few of us have legitimate questions and concerns about Google Print. The last problem on my list is that someone might read a chapter of Henry Adams out of context. God knows we don’t want anyone exposed to random scraps of great writing–who knows, next they’ll read Austen’s books out of order. Persuasion before Sense and Sensibility? Is the world dissolving before my eyes?
Plus I’m glad to see Los Angeles Public Library has adequate funding. Do they know that?
Finally, as a Potter fan, I feel mildly insulted by his tepid response that he’s happy to see children “picking up any book,” and that “anything north of reading the backs of cereal packets is good for people.”
ALA presidents get PR grooming before they take office. Surely ALA’s public affairs people told Gorman to watch what comes out of his mouth. My guess is he wasn’t listening.
(Link by way of Resource Shelf–thanks, Gary!)
Posted on this day, other years:
- Institute for the Future of the Book Releases CommentPress 1.0 - 2007
- Relevance Ranking and OPAC Records - 2007
- Innovation and deDeweyfication... and disagreeing - 2007
- I Love ALA... - 2006
I have been agreeing with what you have said about M. Gorman, and, indeed, you have made me think about him in a different way (I’m a cataloguer, and hence a pre-disposed fan). But this post seemed to work too hard to find things to criticise. I don’t want you to “lay off” Gorman, frequently what you have said has been spot on, but I DO want YOU to think before you go at him. This critique, for me, felt like nit-picking, especially since I got the big impression reading the article (as you did I think) that the reporter was choosing sound-bites to make a story.
I know you have BIG problems with the guy, so, now, do I, but I want to feel that you are judging his actions carefully, rather than just reacting — I’m surely not the only one counting on you as one of my main sources of what’s happening in US librarianship. Cheers, Kathy Whalen
That’s a fair critique. I wondered going into this post whether it was gratuitous. I could have oriented the post around the reporter’s preoccupation with the minor idea at the expense of the more important issue. (But I still wish Gorman had feigned more enthusiasm for Potter, even if it wasn’t in his heart.)
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/
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?
“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.
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.
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”??
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?
Besides, cereal management is very important in our profession!
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?
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.
Um, that would be Thackeray, not the periodical.
-R