“Graphic novels should never be considered strictly ‘superhero.’ They are a visual and textual medium that has a great deal of general [content]”
College-level stuff
Seriously? She expected strictly DC and Marvel and other superhero stuff in a graphic novel course and thought the stuff in it would be considered clean (Anna Murphy, “CA Graphic Novel Complaint: College Student Challenges Syllabus,” LJ 8/15, p. 14ff.). HAHAHAHA! Oh, man, that’s some funny stuff. Clearly she hasn’t read anything that’s been made “recently.” Let’s see, well there’s the graphic novel Joker, which is full of blood, guts, drugs, sex, stripping, and Joker, who is a full-fledged jumble of chaos. There’s Hellboy, full of satanic cult stuff alongside old-world beliefs that any self-proclaimed good Christian would toss their stomach at. Batwoman is full of violence, and the main character is gay. The Killing Joke is incredibly controversial in the case of the alleged rape and beating of Barbara Gordon that was done by the Joker with the intention of psychologically scaring Jim Gordon. And then anything involving Harley Quinn with Joker displays an incredibly abusive relationship. And the stuff I’m just touching here is mostly Batman, and I know there is way more that I’m missing with DC and Hellboy. And lest we forget the array of characters that Marvel has that are homosexual.
Oh and Deadpool…. Well, he’s Deadpool. He does everything and says everything, and I’m sure that’s insulting to this delicate flower of a student.
I almost forgot manga, seeing how that is a type of graphic novel and that’s tons of awesome weird stuff.
Graphic novels should never be considered strictly “superhero.” They are a visual and textual medium that has a great deal of general [content]…. If Tara Schultz can’t handle the reading material and how mature it is, she shouldn’t be in a college-level reading course.
—Name withheld
Better assessment
A [customer relationship management] tool for library customers is a great idea and certainly could lead to better assessment feedback than the standard, boring usage counts that don’t tell any inspiring stories (Andy Spackman, “Assessing the Ambivalent Liaison,” Peer to Peer Review, p. 13). Also good for liaison accountability, which [also] can be hard to measure.
—Steve M. Cramer, Business Reference Libn., Univ. of North Carolina Libs., Greensboro
Tempest in a teapot
With all due respect, [Ian Chant’s “Library Board Appoints New Trustees Despite Past Book Challenge,”] is not well researched and contains some glaring errors. For example, [outgoing board president Kathleen] DiCola did not “step down in protest.” In truth, DiCola was at the expiration of her current six-year term and had earlier asked not to be reappointed. [Arthur] Jaros was appointed to fill the vacancy and only after I spoke to him about the 1999 events and was assured that he would uphold the library’s bylaws and principles no less than DiCola, or any of the other five current library board trustees. Indeed, another new library trustee who was contemporaneously appointed to fill another expiring term received no scrutiny whatsoever from anyone in the community. I have been involved in the appointment of library trustees for over a decade and can say without reservation that this issue has been the proverbial tempest in a teapot.
—Martin Tully, Mayor, Village of Downers Grove, IL
Beyond boundaries
As part of my International Librarianship class, we are participating in the International Librarians Network Peer Mentorship exchange (Michael Stephens, “Nurture or Nature?” Office Hours, LJ 9/15/15, p. 39). My original partnership didn’t work out, but through a Twitter chat I gained a new partner, who is a Hungarian living in Slovakia. She is a library student as well, which gives me a chance to learn about Hungarian LIS education and trends that are happening in central Europe. I think that as we go forward…these types of partnerships that transcend our North American boundaries are important, so that we can expand our horizons and learn from one another. It can be thought of as a horizontal mentorship among peers outside an organization versus a vertical mentorship within an organization.
—Andrea Meszaros, Libn.,Intl. Christian Sch. of Budapest, Diosd, Hungary
Anonymity vs. tyranny
Is this the same retired librarian who tilted at the windmill of public library weeding to the point that the new director was driven away by her (and her groups’) meddling (John Berry, “The Need To Be Anonymous,” Blatant Berry, LJ 9/1/15, p. 10)? Could it be that maybe she took offense at someone correctly calling out the behavior as silly and counterproductive, so it’s all about transparency! BS.
Anonymity in the profession that allows for such witch hunt activities is paramount to professional growth and progress. Disallowing it opens the door to the tyranny of the majority (of retired librarians who think they know better than others).
—Anonymous Coward