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Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

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Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby Winston Niles Rumfoord » Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:33 pm

"The Tuscaloosa Public Library is taking steps to increase employee morale after a complaint came before the library’s board of trustees last week.

The board met Monday to discuss the issue of morale and determined that steps could be made to increase communication to employees, including creating an employee handbook, hiring a part-time human resources person and conducting an anonymous employee survey."

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Lydia Seabol Avant fell down on this one. We read all about the director's indignation about the complaint, but why didn't she interview Rickey Hall to get her side of the story?

"Last week, a former library employee, Rickey Hall, released a public complaint on what she said was “bullying, harassment and intimidation” within the staff and a claim that at least seven employees have resigned from the main library branch within the past year because of the new director."

Then there was this catty little remark:

"“We are not concerned with the reasons for people leaving, because they are all very run of the mill,” said Sherie Giles, the board’s chairwoman."
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby I.C. Truth » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:29 pm

The only "crisis" I see here is that public money is going to such a functionally obsolete institution. With bookstores on almost every corner and internet so accessible the time has come to delete this as a budget item. Tuscaloosa will never advance until we learn to identify government waste and fund the things which will truly develop the economy.
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby Winston Niles Rumfoord » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:38 pm

I.C. someone who doesn't realize that there are older people who are computer illiterate, and others who can't afford to buy books or computers. I.C. something much more important than all the boondoggles the city has wasted vast amounts of money on, including their imperial palace complex downtown, their new fire station, their amphitheater, their transportation museum, and new farmers' market, none of which were needed or wanted.
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby the Skillz Po-lice » Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:20 pm

I.C. Truth wrote:The only "crisis" I see here is that public money is going to such a functionally obsolete institution. With bookstores on almost every corner and internet so accessible the time has come to delete this as a budget item. Tuscaloosa will never advance until we learn to identify government waste and fund the things which will truly develop the economy.

If we based government spending on your needs then we wouldn't even have roads since obviously you don't get out much.

That f-ing place is packed most evenings.
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby Momma told you » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:48 am

Winston, you are absolutely right. The 4 individuals quoted in the story are the Library Director, the Board Chairman that oversaw her hiring, the official library spokesman and a human resources consultant who I assume risks losing the library's business if she doesn't toe the company line. Surely, in the name of responsible reporting, Lydia Seabol Avant could have interviewed Rickey Hall, or some other library employees. Of course, if Ms. Hall is right, and "bullying, harassment and intimidation" are the norm, then Ms. Seabol Avant may not have found anyone willing to talk to her anyway. This story is troubling on many levels, and I have to say that if there is a morale problem at the Tuscaloosa Public Library, statements like those attributed to Library Spokesman Vince Bellofatto, that employees are "confused about the meaning of morale" and that they are upset about being asked to come to work on time and do their jobs, may offer a glimpse into why this may be.
Last edited by Momma told you on Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby The Propagandist » Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:15 am

I.C. Truth wrote:The only "crisis" I see here is that public money is going to such a functionally obsolete institution. With bookstores on almost every corner and internet so accessible the time has come to delete this as a budget item. Tuscaloosa will never advance until we learn to identify government waste and fund the things which will truly develop the economy.


Such thinking is economically elitist and narrow in scope.

Not everybody has the cash to run into a bookstore every week. Not everybody has access to the internet, except at the library. Not every bookstore carries what people may be looking for in a free library: Research into niche topics, historical background, genealogical research, back issues of the newspaper going back many years, etc. etc. etc.

Apparently, you aren't experiencing a need for information that goes unmet, so you really don't see a problem here, do you?
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby The Propagandist » Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:18 am

Winston Niles Rumfoord wrote:I.C. someone who doesn't realize that there are older people who are computer illiterate, and others who can't afford to buy books or computers. I.C. something much more important than all the boondoggles the city has wasted vast amounts of money on, including their imperial palace complex downtown, their new fire station, their amphitheater, their transportation museum, and new farmers' market, none of which were needed or wanted.


You said everything I'm thinking. Your reply is an example of why I cut and paste. Why reinvent the wheel?
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby ren » Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:44 am

Sheesh, the library's the one public resource that really benefits people of all economic backgrounds, especially families. When I'm looking for information, I'll take the handful of titles selected by the TPL staff over the top Google search results online any day of the week.

... So how come nobody complains when the paper invariably runs crime news without asking all but the richest arrestees for their side of the story?
You eeeeeediot!
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby Celly » Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:31 am

They call the library society's great equalizer, as it provides books and computer access to folks who might otherwise not be able to afford them. If that is indeed your opinion, I. C. Truth, I think a name change is in order.
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Re: Tuscaloosa Public Library crisis

Postby Buckeye » Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:11 pm

Celly wrote:They call the library society's great equalizer, as it provides books and computer access to folks who might otherwise not be able to afford them. If that is indeed your opinion, I. C. Truth, I think a name change is in order.


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