7/26/2019 Scapegoating Skateboarders

1/2

American Library Association

Scapegoating SkateboardersAuthor(s): Rich McGowanReviewed work(s):Source: American Libraries, Vol. 34, No. 8 (Sep., 2003), p. 35Published by: American Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25648867.

Accessed: 02/11/2012 22:31

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

American Library Associationis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toAmerica

Libraries.

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=alahttp://www.jstor.org/stable/25648867?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/25648867?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ala

7/26/2019 Scapegoating Skateboarders

2/2

OPINION

35

in

Toronto

were

easy

to

get

into

without

reservations due

to

the

lack

of

business.

I

felt

sorry

for the

people

who had

planned

their

pro

grams

(often

one

to

two

years

in

advance) only tohave low atten

dance

or

who had

to

cancel

their

programs

altogether.

I

hope

we can

have

ALA

again

in

Toronto.

It

is

a

beautiful

city,

and

I

thinkthe

membership

should

get

another chance

to

visit it

when

the

SARS

issue has died

down.

Mitch

Turitz

San

Francisco

State

University

Scapegoating

Skateboarders

I

can

understand

Harry

S. Stein's

frustration

ith

a

library

thatdoes

not offer

quiet

place

to read and

think

(Aug.,

p.

43).

Unfortunately,

Mr.

Stein

chose

to

end

his

opinion

piece

with the line

Maybe

skate

boards

are

next,

implying

that those

who

would ride

or

own

skateboards

are

obviously

loud and bothersome.

As

a

librarian

who rides

a

skate

board,

and

sometimes

even

rides

one

to

work

instead

of

driving,

I'd

like

to

remind

Mr.

Stein

not to

make such base

assumptions.

As

far

as

I

can

tell,

adult

and

teenage

patrons being loud in library com

mon areas

has

nothing

at

all

to

do

with how

they

get

their

exercise

or

get

around

town.

Rich

McGowan

Chicago

ALA's

Left-Wing Speakers

For

an

organization

that should

champion

intellectual

diversity,

the

lineup

of

speakers

at

recent

ALA

conferences

has

been

little

short

of

appalling.

Much like

po

litically

correct

college

campuses

where students

in

some

depart

ments

are

denied the

opportunity

to

hear from

professors

of

diver

gent

political

views,

ALA

gives

its

members

a

steady

diet of

left-wing

political dogma.

The

irony

is

that

we,

as

librarians,

are

duty-bound

to

be

nonpartisan

in

our

dealings

with

the

public

and select

library

materials that

offer

the

full

range

of

political

opinions.

Yet

the

speakers

selected

to

appear

before

our

association

range

from the far

left (Ralph Nader) to the socialist

(Bernie Sanders)

to

the radical

feminist

(Gloria

Steinem).

Who

chooses these

speakers?

Do

they

think

no one

notices when

those

selections

rather

consistently

rep

resent

one

side

of

the

political

spectrum?

Is there

no one

among

ALA's

leadership

with the

good

sense

and

courage

to

question

this

clear

political

bias?

ALA

also dishonors

itself and

its

mission

by

accepting

a

$25,000

contribution

fromMichael

Moore,

who is

simply using

our associa

tion to

advance his

own

political

agenda

under

the

guise

of free

speech

and the

right

to

read.

He

has

cleverly

milked the

disagree

ments

with

his

publisher

into

a

cause

celebre

over

what

were

valid

editorial

judgments

about

a

poorly

Early Literacy Sfafaorr

Opening

tfee

floor

fo

a

lifetime

f

learning

Packed with

developmental^

appropriate

software selected

by Early

Literacy Specialists

Completely

locked down and

guaranteed

to

be stable

every

time

Printer included

Grant assistance available

?

Social

Studies

SEPTEMBER

2003

I

AMERICAN

LIBRARIES