Posted on 02/21/2009 3:07:54 PM PST by kellynla
Philadelphia's public libraries can no longer open without a guard present, according to an internal Free Library e-mail obtained by The Inquirer. The Free Library says it's to ensure staff and patron safety but unions and library advocates believe it's an effort to find new ways to close libraries.
For years, Philadelphia libraries have opened without guards present, library union officials said.
The new rule, like the library's recently instituted requirement to have four workers present to open a branch instead of the customary three, is seen by some in the contentious fight over libraries as another attempt by the Nutter administration to find a way to close branches. The change was effective as of Tuesday.
"Every 15 minutes it's a new story," Amy Dougherty, executive director of the Friends of the Free Library, said yesterday.
Sandy Horrocks, a spokeswoman for library director Siobhan Reardon, disagreed. She said the change was made only to keep libraries safe and clean. (Guards also clean branches.)
She added that the library system was hampered because it is down 11 guards. When the administration tried to close 11 libraries late last year, it transferred those guards to other city duties.
A judge compelled the administration to keep the libraries open. But Horrocks said the guards could not be recalled because the library had to slash its budget by 20 percent and could no longer afford them.
Lately, Mayor Nutter has been discussing the importance of safety and cleanliness in his public remarks about libraries.
Dougherty said she believed he was laying the groundwork for this new policy about guards.
"My feeling was he was stressing those issues as an excuse" to close libraries, she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
give the librarians guns and be done with it, I bet the kids wouldn’t break the no talking rule.
What would Ben Franklin say?
Maybe they can put one in the bathrooms at the downtown Dallas library.....I hate it when I interrupt someone taking a bath out of the toilet...or....sleeping.
Just like Mexico or any other third world
bet you can get porn on the internet their, though.
their => there.
I’m an executive with a small security guard/bodyguard service in Texas. You will soon see guards almost everywhere; private residences, estates, neighborhoods, stores, restaurants, public facilities, etc.. This is going to become a very dangerous country, like Mexico, anywhere in Africa, etc.. Good for our industry, but not the country we grew up in.
Libraries need to evolve from just book centers to literacy centers.
That is, only a fraction of the population enjoy reading books, but few seldom ask why the majority don’t enjoy reading books.
To start with, dyslexia is quite common, but only rarely is severe. But for those with mild dyslexia, reading is far less pleasant. Yet for many people, dyslexia it alleviated just by looking through colored clear glass.
Literacy is much the same. Few people are very illiterate, but a large number of people only have limited literacy. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year because so many people just can’t bring themselves to open the instructional manual or reference book, and want somebody to read it and explain it to them.
So why not use libraries as formal literacy centers. Many librarians are trained as English teachers. And speaking and writing with good English is a fast way to earn more money for many people.
Librarians could be trained to test for dyslexia, as well as to determine the language and reading skills of patrons. They also have a huge number of sources to use in their classes.
In about 1953 I was sitting in the “big persons” part of the library with a friend when the Librarian came over and made us move to another table, because the old guy sitting across from us had mirrors on his shoes.
I was very confused about that for several years, until I figured it out.
In today’s post-literate America, public libraries are primarily free internet porn portals for stinky, drug-addled, mentally-ill, unemployable men. Let go, folks. Books are so over.
Uhhhhh.....is the Mayor of Philadelphia’s name really Nutter or is that like a nickname the locals have given him?
Is that all you noticed going on in there?
You're lucky.
<In today’s post-literate America, public libraries are primarily free internet porn portals for stinky, drug-addled, mentally-ill, unemployable men. Let go, folks. Books are so over.
Very far from the truth. I am not a librarian, but I teach in a library program and am involved with a number of corporate, academic, and public librarians around my state. Are there problem patrons, yes, do most patrons resemble the people you described? No.
I’m not a book person, in terms of my professional focus. I take issue with my students every week about the role of traditional libraries and their lack of competitiveness. However, I don’t think books are ‘over’ and neither are libraries. They may end up looking very different from their current incarnation.
btw - Today’s librarians are trained in computers, databases, web design, and digital archiving, among other technical skills. You knew that, right?
I guess Nutter hates literacy. Almost as much as guns.
Mark
Today’s librarians might be trained in computers, databases, web design, and digital archiving, among other technical skills, but the majority of the library patronage hours are literally manhours, and are specifically stinky, drug-addled-or-mentally-ill, unemployable, porn-surfing manhours. You knew that, right?
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