Library Tech Confidential

It seems that Republican Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, in the fine tradition of so many concerned municipal politicians from communities large and small, had a book-banning bee in her bonnet.

From “Mayor Palin: A Rough Record” in Time Magazine, via Librarian.net :

[Former Wasilla, Alaska Mayor John] Stein says “[Palin] asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor… [read more]

Threatening to fire the librarian for her refusal is somewhat unsurprising, given that Palin also reportedly sacked the heads of other city agencies for alleged ’loyalty’ to her predecessor.

Note to elected officials: undermining the merit principle for staffing and promotion in a non-partisan civil service is no easy shortcut to ‘cutting red tape’ or slashing ‘unecessary bureaucracy’; instead, it’s just another plodding step down the road back to the untrammeled patronage system of the not-so-distant past. Also, don’t mess with the library!

Photo credit: AKMuckraker via WIkipedia.

Border with Canada runs through library in Vermont village - “Walk across the carpeted floor to the circulation desk and you’re in Canada. But if you sit down on the couch, you’re back in the U.S.” [Canada.com]

Alaska police crimp wireless surfer - “A Palmer man has been waiting to see if he’ll be charged with criminal wrongdoing after a patrolling police officer seized the laptop he was using to play online video games in the [public library’s] parking lot… Police said that although Tanner was using an essentially free service, there are library rules governing its use and Tanner wasn’t following them.” [UPI via Engadget]

Using free wireless at library described as theft - “Tanner said he was upset that he hasn’t gotten his computer back yet. The police have told him he won’t until the case is concluded, he said. Jeanne Novosad, the library system manager, said the wireless connection is normally shut off when the library is closed. But the library was waiting on a technician to install a timer and the connection was left on after hours for several days, she said.” [Anchorage Daily News]

Online game-player chased for using city’s wireless link - “Tanner said he doesn’t think the case will go to court. Remaley said he’s not sure either. He has to talk to library officials, find out what their rules are, and make a determination. He hasn’t seen a lot of these cases, but he doesn’t think the case against Tanner is going away.” [Anchorage Daily News]

“Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions is recruiting for a Chief Librarian to manage the Detainee Library, under the direction of the Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” [via Kottke]

Thirsty for some context? Andrew Selsky’s “Guantanamo inmates turn to library books“, an AP piece that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (among others) picked up last week might hit the spot:

The detainees are avid readers, according to the librarians. With detainees largely confined to cramped cells most of the day, reading provides an outlet and can help take their minds off the prospect that they may be jailed for years or even the rest of their lives with no trial…

Returned books are inspected. Writers of clandestine messages lose library privileges for a week, [librarian and Army Lt. John] Brown said.