Friday, January 30, 2009

Tongue in Cheek

Scott Douglas, Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2008) is alternately funny and scathing about the life of a public librarian (he is a librarian at the Anaheim Public Library in California). He provides an insider's view of the hectic activities and often weird adventures of someone working in a city library, on the front lines. And, although I could not bring myself to check, I am sure many librarians have been rattled by the book. I have a sense that the publisher worked with him to juice up the more ridiculous aspects at the expense of his obvious commitment to the public good of such institutions. His education as a librarian gets a pretty tough raking over the coals, although there is nothing particularly new in his comments on that score; we tend to be easy targets, especially since it is easy to play on the public perceptions of what a librarian needs to or should know. There are two reasons to read the book. First, perspective and new students will read it (I have this awful feeling it is sitting in the careers section at the bookstores). Second, there are many stories about work in public libraries that ring true about this sector of our field; if I had the equivalent for archives, I would use it in one of my courses (the closest I have is Nicholson Baker's Double Fold and he really didn't understand archives clearly enough -- although I have used it more than once). We should embrace such stuff as a way of adding a little spice and controversy in our courses, and, if nothing else, to get some humor into our classes.

7 comments:

Scott Douglas said...

Career section would be a step up...Borders was sticking it in literary criticism! Thanks for the review, and your flattering words.

BTW, I hear much better things about U Pitts MLIS program then SJSU!

Richard J. Cox said...

Yes, some of us are rather amazed about the scale of the SJSU program, one seeming to be more factory than graduate education.

Anonymous said...

This book should be a popular seller at ALA conferences along with the action figure librarian from a few years ago! :-\

SJSU is a large school, located in a large state, with a large digital state library system and large numbers of people needing library services. It seems to work well for some students as well as faculty even from UPitt and other schools, who teach there in their free time.

Richard J. Cox said...

If one is going to make a statement suggesting some insider or knowledgeable view, it might be better not to post as "anonymous."

Anonymous said...

I have heard from more than a few graduate students from other programs across the US who share very similar concerns (factory like) and am not disagreeing with it, however, know many who teach there and have for many years.
And yes, I'm sorry to post anonymously on this but the faculty list are on the SJSU website -

http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facultylists.php

how would I know that? well lets just say some time ago, I couldn't find someone I was supposed to work with, and they were out in SJ.
Not all of their courses are online. I agree that graduate education must come first in one's own school first-so others are not being shortchanged or worse.

Anonymous said...

..."There are two reasons to read the book. First, perspective and new students will read it (I have this awful feeling it is sitting in the careers section at the bookstores). Second, there are many stories about work in public libraries that ring true about this sector of our field; if I had the equivalent for archives, I would use it in one of my courses (the closest I have is Nicholson Baker's Double Fold and he really didn't understand archives clearly enough -- although I have used it more than once). We should embrace such stuff as a way of adding a little spice and controversy in our courses, and, if nothing else, to get some humor into our classes."
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For many seasoned librarians, it is another humorous book about what librarians have been doing from day 1, and while some things change, I don't think it is anything that surprising to read about since libraries have always worked with the public. Actually anyone who works with the public can write volumes. ALA American Library Association is much older and larger than most archival organizations -(correct me if I'm wrong here) and there is a wealth for this type of "stuff": guest speakers, publication columns in American Libraries, Library Journal, etc ----ever read Will Manley columns or his books?

heres a list from LibraryThing :http://www.librarything.com/author/manleywill

Books by Will Manley combine/separate works

Unprofessional behavior : confessions of a public librarian 10 copies
The truth about catalogers 9 copies
Unintellectual freedoms : opinions of a public librarian 8 copies
The Truth About Reference Librarians 8 copies, 1 review
Unsolicited advice : observations of a public librarian 7 copies, 1 review
The Manley art of librarianship 7 copies
Uncensored thoughts : pot shots from a public librarian 3 copies
For library directors only : talking about trustees ; For library trustees… 3 copies
The Manley Art of Librarianship 1 copy
Unprofessional Behavior: Confessions of a Public Librarian 1 copy
Snowballs in the Bookdrop: Talking It Over With Your Library's Community 1 copy
Well-Traveled Books 1 copy

From a 1997 Will Manley column (he was at Tempe AZ libraries years ago)--many of the same issues are being talked about still in another wave of discussions on open access. Libraries have always had humor and yes lots of controversy as norm.

"Here is Will Manley's great column from the October, 1997 issue of American Libraries.
ARE WE FREE TO TALK HONESTLY ABOUT INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM? By Will Manley

linked at : http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/web4lib/1997-October/022143.html

"...On all other hot topics - technology, outsourcing, and the future of the book - there is little or no peer pressure to restrain your desire to rant and rave to your heart's content. But if you really care about your reputation in the profession, you better watch what you say about intellectual freedom. With just a few words of dissent you'll be branded a censor, and in library circles you're better off being accused of being a mass murderer than a censor. At least those accused of mass murder are given due process. It's the greatest of ironies that intellectual freedom is the only professional issue in which it is not safe to exercise your intellectual freedom. All points of view that fall short of our extreme "give everyone unfettered access to everything" party line are branded as dangerous heresies that will lead us down the slippery slope to a repressive society. Of course, that's what we say. What we do is something far different. In public we preach full access; in private we censor. We get away with this because we call our censorship "selection". "

Just as today new professionals may want to blog and twitter, back in the day, librarians did the same thing, but in different methods of publication, networking and communication.

A favorite of mine lately is New York Public Library on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/The-New-York-Public-Library/21557622350

Anonymous said...

"Yes, some of us are rather amazed about the scale of the SJSU program, one seeming to be more factory than graduate education."

Well, for students looking for online archives courses, they must be doing something right-they'll definitely get the students, not just on the west coast.

http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/mara/index.htm

The San José Master of Archives and Records Administration program, the first in the world to be taught totally online will begin in Fall 2008.