Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Library Lunacy

The staff of the Free Library would like to thank City Paper for bringing much-needed attention to the library's unacceptable security conditions and policies ["Throwing the Book at Them," Daryl Gale, April 8, 2004]. Here are a few other elements of the story that we think your readers should be aware of:

In the aftermath of Brian McCutcheon's [alleged] assault at Independence Branch, the administration misled the media by saying that he had been banned from Central for viewing pornography. In reality, he had been banned for [allegedly] exposing himself and masturbating at a computer.

When the administration learned that a union steward was talking to reporters in the days following the Independence Branch attack, they tried to intimidate him into silence. They claim McCutcheon couldn't be banned systemwide because he had "rights." Committing an unfair labor practice, on the other hand, was apparently perfectly acceptable.

In surveys conducted by the Free Library in 2001 and 2002, staff overwhelmingly said that policies were needed to deal with problem patrons who abuse staff and inappropriately use computers. The administration declined to take tougher action against problem patrons.

Approximately 60 staff members of the Central Library signed a petition in July 2002 requesting, among other things, tougher actions against problem patrons. Once again, the administration declined to act.

A labor/management task force on public computer safety issues sent its final report to the administration in October. There has still been no response to the report's recommendations.

We're happy that the Central Library finally has much-needed automated sign-in and time-out software for public computers. We would still be waiting for the installation today, however, if 10 librarians in the General Information Department hadn't signed a petition March 3 declaring their working conditions unacceptable and demanding change.

It's good news that the security task force is now considering procedures for banning problem patrons systemwide. As recently as early March, though, the administration was telling the union that the city solicitor had informed them that it couldn't be done.

Now the administration insists that our concerns are "nearly dated." We hope City Paper readers and the people of Philadelphia will understand if we aren't overly confident that the administration is telling the truth.

The Undersigned Staff Members of the Free Library of Philadelphia

[letter contains signatures from 68 librarians and support staff]

Too True

So you spent a whole week creating an issue consisting of made-up stories and intentional lies ["Bu$ted", CP staff, April 1, 2004]? It probably would have been funnier if the articles were actually ironic, and didn't reflect the state of affairs as they actually are. (As a SEPTA trolley rider, it's a constant source of wonder as to when, or whether, the trolley will come, and what route it might take.) The reason The Onion succeeds is because the stories are the OPPOSITE of what you would expect, and they surprise the reader. Most of the stories you printed were basically what I was afraid of all along.

John Romanski
Via e-mail