Yet more supporting material for John Berry’s latest editorial: Jo Ann Pinder was fired. A Wandering Eyre notes that one of Pinder’s crimes was buying Spanish-language materials; I note her dastardly tendency to lavish her budget on popular reading. What was she thinking?
As is usually the case, it’s all a front for a right-wing group desperately trying to engineer their local library into a sham of a public institution with all the information relevance of a Precious Moments figurine (a group supposedly local, but probably fronted by a national group–that happened all the time in the early filtering wars). As always, I wonder who they’ll hire.
I remember when Jeff Cannell took over Albany (NY) Public Library. He is a Southern fellow who came north (very, coldly north) under not that dissimilar circumstances. He done good–real good (though once on way to a meeting he made me woozy by offering me a Pepsi at 8 a.m.–I guess he stayed Southern to the core). Gwinnett’s loss is some lucky library’s gain. Unfortunately, the staff stuck back at Gwinnett may not have the flexibility to follow her.
Posted on this day, other years:
- - 2009
- Marc Truitt's Surprising ITAL Editorial - 2009
- Farewell, Tim Russert - 2008
- Britannica Stirs the Pot - 2007
If he was a true Southerner he would have offered you a Coke! Interesting situation there. It will defintiely be interesting to see who they hire and what happens.
“Precious Moments figurine”–that is so good it should be the title of an essay.I sometimes speak of the “Hallmarkian” nature of library boards as appointed by the values crowd– but “Precious Moments figurine” captures the way they think much better…and is even more insipid even than Stepfordian.
I kinda liked the Stepford wives. At least they were camp!
But PEPSI is the taste “born in the Carolinas!”
“But PEPSI is the taste “born in the Carolinas!”
Where I’m from the only cola is Coke. In fact every soft drink is a Coke. And the Carolinas ain’t Southern. Except maybe the one with South in the name. 🙂