3 posts tagged “colbert report”

Let me start by saying that the Colbert bit  about our local library kerfuffle was hysterical.  I'm sure that former ALA President Leslie Burger will be forever bragging that Colbert referred to her as "Princess Leia."  I'm a little annoyed at how frizzy my hair looked, but other than that, I have no beef with Stephen.

But now  it's time to provide the other side of the story.  For the record, I don't work at the Nazareth or Easton library and I don't know the staff who work there.  My only connection in this case was having my (New Jersey) library used to shoot the indoor footage.

The facts in a nutshell: a little boy was given a card at the Nazareth Library.  He used the card to check out books for months, then took part in the library's summer reading program.  A local paper took his picture and reported where he lived.  In response to the photo, the library that issued the card (Not Nazareth, see the "addendum" below) left a message on the family's answering machine telling them that the Nazareth card is not valid.

Isn't that mean? Don't you just want to smack the mean library?  Well, read on.

The cute little boy denied borrowing privileges at Nazareth lives in a small town, Tatamy, that has steadfastly refused to contribute to the regional library that serves their area.  The town officials insist that most residents don't use   the library, and they would prefer that those few interested patrons pay a membership fee that the town would
partially reimburse.  Therefore, only actual users of the library would pay for it.That may sound reasonable, but imagine trying to fund the public schools solely from taxes on families who use the schools.  It can't be done. Imagine exempting non-drivers from taxes devoted to road maintenance.  

The town leaders of Tatamy imagine that a public library is akin to a public golf course - a recreational amenity rather than an essential public service.  So to their way of thinking, membership fees make perfect sense.

Should the library have made an exception for the  cute kid?  Well, since giving the child a card in the first place was a library error, I'd say yeah, the library should eat it, at least for awhile. Unfortunately, the library director was on vacation when all this was unfolding, but when she returned, she did the sensible thing and reinstated his borrowing privileges until the end of the year.  So he was not "banned from the library," and never was - even without a library card he could still participate in programs.

Making a broader exception than that, though, is patently unfair to the other cute kids of Tatamy who can't check out books at the Nazareth Library, and unfair to the cute kids of the surrounding towns whose parents shouldn't be expected to foot the bill for towns that don't want to pay their share.

ADDENDUM: In the above paragraphs, I deliberately simplified the funding issue, in the interest of presenting what I deem the crux of the matter, Tatamy's refusal to pay its share toward the library.  If you want the more complicated version, read on:

The child in question did not actually apply for a card at the Nazareth Library.  He (or actually his mother) applied for a card at the Easton Area Public Library.

Because the borough of Tatamy isn't served by a library, the Easton Library, in its capacity as a "district library," agreed to serve Tatamy residents for a modest annual fee ($25 for adults and $5 for a child).  Most libraries in Pennsylvania belong to a statewide open borrowing program, in which a library card issued at one library entitles you to full privileges at all participating libraries. When Tatamy residents buy a card from Easton, they are entitled to use it ONLY in Easton.  Because their municipality does not contribute toward a library, they are not entitled to the all-state  open-borrowing privileges. The mistake that Easton made was to certify this family as being entitled to use all Pennsylvania libraries.  

How did Easton make such a mistake?  Because when the child's mother applied for the Easton card, she "made a mistake," and told them she lived in Easton. Therefore, she got an Easton card for free, and got full statewide privileges in the bargain.   The clerk who processed her card should have verified the mother's residence, but instead
took her "mistaken" claims at face value.

Maybe someday, the residents of Tatamy will put pressure on their elected officials to contribute to the Nazareth Library.  In the meantime, people need not weep for the cute little boy.  Even when his Nazareth library card expires at the end of year, he will be able to enjoy library services at the Easton Library for  a mere $5.00 a year.   

Who knows what is going to survive the cutting room floor, but right now I feel like the coolest person on the planet.

For some reason, TCR glommed on to a news story about a library that denied a child borrowing privileges because he wasn't a resident of their town.  The town where the family does live has refused to fund the regional library, because they think a $12/year per capita tax is too expensive for unlimited access to books, DVDs, databases, educational programs and expert research help (can you tell I'm biased here?)

ANYWAY, the politics of library funding aside, when you've got a cute kid who wants a library book, you've got a news story.  Since the family didn't want to step foot inside the library that denied them privileges, they asked if they could film inside my library and just pretend it was the other (mean, anti-kid) library.

What was interesting was how staged the segment is. They wanted shots of the child bringing books to the circulation desk to be checked out.  It involved multiple takes and calls of "Action!" More like a movie than a news story: this was, literally, fake news.  I'm not an idiot, and I know that TCR and The Daily Show are fake news, but I sort of thought the field pieces were based on reality.

I have a feeling that TCR will end up ridiculing the "mean library", and I feel bad about being part of the ruse, but hey - I was filmed for The Colbert Report!

(by the way, if the story and my footage survives, I'm the lady checking out the books).

The 2/25/07 New York Times has an interesting article about the place on the tv dial you can find serious authors being interviewed about their books.  Surprise - it's Comedy Central, specifically The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.  A publisher is quoted thusly: “It’s the television equivalent of NPR...You have a very savvy, interested audience who are book buyers, people who do go into bookstores, people who are actually interested in books.”  Who knew?  I thought I was a stoned slacker. Oh wait, I am interested in books.