BPL Publishes, Then Retracts, Tintin Response

Brooklyn Public Library sequestered Tintin and the world continues to be scandalized. From the Bay Ridge blogosphere to the French literary press, everyone's picking up the story. Amidst the hubbub, BPL's No Shush Zone responded to the growing criticism, but their August 22nd post has since been taken down (shushed!). Here it is, saved from the brink of virtual obsolescence by my handy feed reader:

Hi All-

We know there's been a lot of chatter on the web about the NY Times piece about Tintin Au Congo, and we love the good-natured discussion, and the heated debates. But we've also seen some facts we'd like to correct, so please read on.

Our special collections -- such as the Hunt Collection and the Brooklyn Collection -- are areas at Central Library in which we offer and store rare, irreplaceable and delicate materials.

Tintin au Congo was relocated to the Hunt Collection at Central Library about three years ago after it was determined by a committee that reviews book challenges to have content that is questionable for children. Yes, the Hunt Collection is a vaulted room, but not for "offensive" or "banned" books, but a special collection that consists of approximately 7,000 juvenile books, pamphlets, and periodicals dating back to the 1740s and concluding with materials published in the 1950s, including some first editions. Included are classic children’s literary texts, special limited and illustrated editions and books written and/or illustrated by people affiliated with Brooklyn. So the titles kept here are often out of print, rare and of historical significance; this special collection was appraised at over $400,000. Tintin Au Congo fits into the collection perfectly as a rare title of historical significance that needs safekeeping.

So now Tintin au Congo lives in a room in Central Library with other priceless works so we can keep it safe… as well as keep it close at hand in case an interested customer wants to view it. This title -- as well as others in the Hunt Collection -- is listed in our catalog as a title available to the public, and is viewable by appointment.

BPL will also offer tours of the Hunt Collection as part of Open House NYC. More information on those tours will be available in mid-September.

I agree that a "rare title of historical significance" ought to be housed in a special collection. And I'm quite fond of the Hunt Collection -- I cataloged a portion of it during my library school internship at BPL back in 2003. However, Tintin au Congo wasn't removed from circulation due to preservation concerns, but for it's "questionable" content.

As Michael Meyers of the New York Civil Rights Coalition writes in a recent NY Daily News op-ed, "Banishing of books is bad form and bad library science, and if it catches on all that will pass for acceptable and available reading for children and adults alike will amount to pabulum and the homogenized opinions approved by the self-righteous among us who always think - and are so sure they know - what's good and what's bad for the rest of us."

The Brooklyn Public Library Layoff Debacle

Yesterday, the Daily News reported that Brooklyn Public Library laid off 13 non-union employees to alleviate a portion of its $5.5 million budget shortfall. This news comes rather late; the terminations took place back on July 6. There has, however, been some not-so-local media coverage of this story that's been brewing for nearly two weeks.

On August 9, the Washington Post profiled the career-coaching and outplacement firm Five O'Clock Club in a lengthy article entitled "The Art of Letting Employees Go." Turns out, Brooklyn Public Library hired these downsizing specialists to assist with their layoff process and Post reporter Eli Saslow went along for the ride. His article includes some rather specific descriptions of the effected employees, even noting their client numbers with Five O'Clock Club. Big mistake.

Presumably, complaints by the 13 staffers and/or their still-employed colleagues were severe enough to warrant a flurry of apologies, accusations, and denials by BPL execs, Five O'Clock Club, and the Post. Library Journal deftly outlines the situation in this article which, in turn, elicited this response by the Post's ombudsman. Not only did Saslow all but identify the laid off employees by name, he may have added too much "color" to his story:

Contrary to Saslow’s description of Hall gulping two Tylenol, [Club president Kate] Wendleton said: “Kim does not pop Tylenol – ever.” She denied Saslow’s claim that Club employees get bonuses “almost every month.” She even denied his description of their offices being located “across from a laundry room where tenants come and go in their pajamas.”

He said, she said! All finger-pointing aside, I think journalists ought to remember that librarians take privacy issues quite seriously.

Challenging Tintin

With Brooklyn Public Library's decision to move Tintin au Congo into the Hunt Collection as its point of departure, City Room considers how local libraries respond to challenged books. The reading public has been quick to jump into the censorship in libraries debate, with 237 comments and counting. Have you weighed in?

Midtown Lunch: Bites of NYPL's Future and Past

Seems there's no news but NYPL news these doggone summer days. I've no doubt other libraries will pick up the slack come September, but for now:

Ann Thornton has been named interim Director of the New York Public Libraries, after previous Director David Ferriero was chosen, hand-of-Obama-style, as the latest Archivist of the United States.

Following last month's revelation that work on a new Donnell Library won't begin until 2011 (if ever), the NY Times Real Estate section recently featured an architectural examination of the shuttered, beloved NYPL branch. It seems a small group of preservationists have been lobbying the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Donnell's behalf. Not everyone is convinced.

The new Donnell had a facade of Spartan simplicity, about as warm as a jail cell. ... Writing in his column in The New Yorker in 1956, Lewis Mumford likened it to the careful, ordered facade of a high Renaissance palazzo, but one “cleansed of ornament.” For Mumford that was not necessarily a negative, but he found the “cheerless” Donnell a design of “assiduous anonymity.” The library, he wrote, “has very little to say, and is content with not saying it.”

Later, the reporter likens Donnell to boiled spinach, then quips, "however, that has never been a disqualifier for landmark status."

Donnell Deal Details & Conserving Local Archival Collections

Library Journal's recent update on the Donnell Library boondoggle reveals new details about New York Public Library's deal with Orient-Express Hotels. In short, the hotel chain has paid NYPL an additional $9 million in recompense for a two-year project delay. Commenting on the article, RitaSue Siegel writes: "At a meeting at the City Council office LeClerc and the COO of the NYPL told a small group of us from the West 54-55 Street Block Association, representatives of CB5 and the liaison people from all the electeds that there will be a $30 million penalty paid to the NYPL by OE if OE does not break ground for the hotel with a library in it in 2011."

Yesterday's NY Times featured an informative article about paper conservation projects at the American Jewish Historical Society, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New York Historical Society, all funded by Save America's Treasures.

NYPL Director Ferriero to Head NARA

If President Obama's nomination goes through, New York Public Library's David S. Ferriero will head to the Beltway to become the United States Archivist, chief of the National Archives and Records Administration. NARA has been leaderless since December. Now, who will Paul LeClerc choose as NYPL's next "Andrew W. Mellon Director and Chief Executive of The Research Libraries"?

With Clock Ticking on Buttenwieser Library, Patrons Protest

The 92nd St. Y's Buttenwieser Library will likely close its doors for the final time this Friday, much to the chagrin of long-time patrons, community members, and library lovers. A protest held on Monday evening drew a small but vocal crowd and strong interest from passers-by, 340 of whom signed a petition urging the Y's administration to keep the library intact. During the protest, Stephanie Gross, founder of NY Librarians MeetUp, interviewed former Buttenwieser librarian Anna Culbertson, along with others infuriated by the Y's abrupt and ill-advised decision. Listen right here.

TODAY: Protest at the 92nd St. Y

Via friends at Urban Librarians Unite:

Currently the management of the 92Y wants to shut down the Buttenwieser Library, an independent community library that has been in existence for more than 80 years. The space is being taken for office space and the library will be replaced with a "reading room" and Wi-Fi. This is a clear refutation of the library as relevant social agent and a complete kick in the teeth to the people in the neighborhood who rely on it.

Join activists and librarians for a demonstration at the 92 St Y at 1395 Lexington Avenue on Monday (TODAY) from 6-8.

There's also an online petition. Please sign!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/92ylibrary?e

Don't let anyone make us irrelevant! Save the community library for the sake of the community!

When Public Officials Overreact & Other Newsbreaks

So much for summer's reputation as a slow news season. There's been NYC library coverage aplenty over the last week. Let's break it down.

New York Public Library finally dropped the layoff bomb and it wasn't all that painful. Sixty-five positions have been eliminated, but 120 "restructured" positions have been created thanks to a large (but unknown) number of vacancies yielded by employees who accepted "voluntary separation incentives." Those 65 affected library staffers get first dibs on the 120 new positions.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind called on Brooklyn Public Library to ban all VHS tapes after a Borough Park granny discovered porn spliced into the ending credits of the copy of Austin Powers she'd borrowed for her grandkids. The perpetrator had already been arrested for the crime, and 18 similarly modified tapes were found during BPL's internal investigation.

NYPL's 42nd Street building opened the Edna Barnes Salomon Room as a study space, featuring seating for 128 patrons, Wi-Fi, and loaner laptops (available starting July 28). The Salomon Room was formerly used for exhibitions.

And in a final piece of NYPL news, the recently-launched, totally new-fangled Catalog appears to be running smoothly.

Library Deathwatch: 92nd Street Y

The 92nd Street Y's Buttenwieser Library will close at the end of the month, 79 years after first opening its doors. The Library's 30,000 books will be dispersed throughout the building and a small, Wi-Fi equipped reading room is planned for the ground level. Job cuts are certain.

I learned of the impending closure last week from this strangely-focused and generally maddening City Room article. I love City Room, but sometimes their quest for quantity and speed triumphs over quality. In this case, the writer interviewed the Y's executive director, a patron, and a Yeshiva University professor, but no Buttenwieser librarians. Then there's his decision to frame the article with some mallarcky about Homer and e-books, culminating in this spurious conclusion: "...the community center’s transition to a more computer-centric model is emblematic of the sometimes painful merger of the analog and digital worlds." It's 2009! Administrators looking to reinvent their libraries for the 21st century have countless successful models on which to base their redesign. As more than one commenter noted, it's all about the MONEY and, possibly, some kind of premium office space land-grab.

Rant over. If you'd like to read a balanced article on the subject, click over to the Jewish Week.

Donnell Library in Suspended Animation

New York Public Library's stalled-out deal with Orient-Express Hotels has been reaffirmed, according to City Room. Donnell Library was dealt in 2007, but the hotel chain suspended its payments earlier this year, citing financial difficulties. The sale will now close in June 2011. That's right: four years after the original agreement and three years hence the library's shuttering. Great planning!

New NYPL ILS Off to Rocky Start, Patrons Testy

Patience, New Yorkers! I know you have no idea how much time, effort, blood, tears went into the creation of NYPL's new catalog, but give your public servants a few days to work out the kinks.