Guardienne of the Tomes

Having come across a couple of very excellent books recently, I decided that it wouldn't be too far afield for me to offer some book reviews here. (After all, the Guardienne does believe in making every effort to encourage everyone to read more.) On Target's Bookmarked list is My Sister's Keeper by New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult. You can read the book jacket here . The book explores a family in which the elder sister Kate is sick with leukemia, and her younger sister Anna was conceived as a perfect genetic match to help with her sister's therapy. The book takes off the rose-colored glasses for a real look into the workings of a family dealing with a child's illness, and the decisions each family members makes - particularly the choices Anna makes as she grows older and questions her role as Kate's constant donor. Specifically, the book explores the difficulties of asserting the standing up for oneself in light of how that decision imapacts lo...

In my last post, I said “freedom for all” does not mean “rules for none.” Off-hand, I usually mean that with reference to the argument to allow ‘porninators’ full access to public (and publicly viewable) terminals. But in libraries we can apply it in many forms. In my library, I’m lucky enough to have a policy and chain-of-command to go to in the case that law enforcement officials need information. ALA and the ACLU are notorious for defending the freedom to do anything, anywhere, particularly in publicly funded bastions of democracy like libraries. With all of the hysteria over the Patriot Act, librarians and administrators have gone over to breaking the law in favor of pursuing personal agendas. Simply disregarding government authority on the pretext that the Patriot Act violates someone’s privacy is not just dumb, it makes librarians as a whole look foolish, and I heartily resent that. There are systems in place where you can challenge (legally) the request. There’s no need to tie ...

Okay, I'll admit it up front. I am old-fashioned. I like my libraries quiet. I like my monographs to have pages instead of scroll bars, but I do love the ease of electronic databases adn e-journals. I believe that patrons should all be treated equally...except for the ones acting like asses. I believe that it is the librarian's duty, calling, job to help anyone and everyone get access however possible. I believe that porninators do not belong in the library, and that if caught should be asked to move to another machine and cease and desist...and upon another offense be asked politely to leave. I believe that food and coffee belong in Starbucks and not in my stacks, that children should be encouraged to read as often as possible, and that folks seeking to ban books need new hobbies. I believe that it is the job of librarians to salvage the record of human history. I also believe that we can be myopic to the point of stupidity. Upon the discovery of digitization preservation, we...