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News & ArtsWednesday, October 28, 2009
Books
Fuck!
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 3:22 PM
MobyLives reports on a Tennessean library vandal who is taking out books, blacking out the word "fuck", and returning the books. The vandal has vandalized fifty to a hundred books so far, and the story claims that librarians can't track down the offender because "federal law protects patrons." Which doesn't seem true to me or to MobyLives.
What, exactly, does this vandal think he or she* is doing? The context still remains and so, everybody knows what word is blacked out. Only adults take out mystery books, and every adult has heard the word "fuck" before. No four-year-old is going to be flipping through the new Patricia Cornwell and become corrupted by a four-letter-word. If I caught this vandal, I would condemn him/her to read nothing but Christian fiction for the rest of his/her wretched life.
* At least, unlike many crimes, I can't instantly tell if the person who committed the crime is a man or a woman. This bit of assholery is truly asexual.
1
My vote is for a man. A woman would get mad and pull a Marge Simpson before she'd start blacking the words out.
2
Federal law protects patrons so therefore the library dumps the identity of the person who returns a book the moment a book is returned. (At least, most computerized systems do this.) So unless the vandal is keeping the books overdue and racking up fines (fine information is held until the fine is paid), the library can't track the vandalism unless they look through each book before check out and return. That would be really onerous and piss off everyone trying to check out a book..
3
They really cannot look up who has checked out a particular book (or, can they look it up, but they just can't do anything about it?)? I would assume that if someone returned a book that had been torn up or seriously damaged, that the library could charge that person for the book. How is this any different? Is it that a damaged book would be noticed right away, before the book had been "checked in", but once a book's been "checked in", librarians can't look up its history? Any librarians care to comment on this?
I would vote for it being a women, myself.
I would vote for it being a women, myself.
4
@2. Well, that answers my question, I guess. I would think that, given that this library is having problems, they could do a quick flip through each book before "check in." It would be an additional time investment, for sure, though, so may not be worth it. Plus, someone could always argue that it was there when they checked it out (though, I would think that once someone has been questioned once about it, they might not be so keen to do it again). Anyways, if I were them, I would just announce that all books will be screened before check-in. You wouldn't actually have to do it for it to deter someone from acting.
5
In the age of the internet, most children by the age of 12 have already seen a donkey show online. Heaven forbid they should read the word fuck in a book.
6
So how did that other library hunt down the guy who invested the library with bedbugs? This doesn't make any sense to me.
7
The grain of hope I find in this story is that the perpetrator, having to read each of these books fully in order to find each instance of the word 'fuck,' accidently broadens his/her mind, and realizes what an asshole s/he is.
8
I bought a used paperback at my library a few months ago that had been "de-fucked." But whoever hated "fuck" apparently didn't give a shit about "cunt," and left that word alone. So maybe we are talking about a man doing the deed?
10
too bad no actual librarians exist anywhere in the world who you could ask for an explanation.
wait, i'm a librarian! the last of my kind. oh constant, i adore you, but you've crossed me!
the reason is this: libraries can either view your checkout history as private, or not. i could tell the police what you checked if they asked, or not. i could pour through your search and checkout histories, or not.
which do you prefer?
wait, i'm a librarian! the last of my kind. oh constant, i adore you, but you've crossed me!
the reason is this: libraries can either view your checkout history as private, or not. i could tell the police what you checked if they asked, or not. i could pour through your search and checkout histories, or not.
which do you prefer?
11
@4: I don't know how big there circulation numbers are v. the resources they have, but quadrupling the time to receive a book could be a huge resource sink. And most libraries are strapped for cash and short of competent volunteers.
@6: He was actually dealing with rare books, which means the staff probably personally knew who had the infested books. They also told him not to use the regular book drop and he did anyway. You shouldn't put rare books in the book drop even when they aren't full of bloodsucking vermin. Jerk. More info here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/210…
@9: I've always hated that bastard.
@6: He was actually dealing with rare books, which means the staff probably personally knew who had the infested books. They also told him not to use the regular book drop and he did anyway. You shouldn't put rare books in the book drop even when they aren't full of bloodsucking vermin. Jerk. More info here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/210…
@9: I've always hated that bastard.
12
@2 wrong!
federal law does NOT protect you. that is why some libraries choose to dump their patrons' records. this way, even if the federal government comes knocking, we have nothing to give.
not all libraries make this choice, their reasons for not doing so vary.
federal law does NOT protect you. that is why some libraries choose to dump their patrons' records. this way, even if the federal government comes knocking, we have nothing to give.
not all libraries make this choice, their reasons for not doing so vary.
14
@12;The story says "federal law protects patrons." While I know the Patriot Act allows access to library records, I know that was a change of policy.
And capitalize for gods' sake, you're a librarian.
And capitalize for gods' sake, you're a librarian.
15
@14 the story is incomplete. who knows what the writer is talking about, given The Vague.
no. i research and write content for other people 10 hours a day, my pinkies get some time off.
no. i research and write content for other people 10 hours a day, my pinkies get some time off.
16
@14 - "And capitalize for gods' sake, you're a librarian."
I wouldn't bring it up if you didn't, but re-read that sentence.
I wouldn't bring it up if you didn't, but re-read that sentence.
17
@11 re: @4 -- most libraries, most, could develop a search in a matter of minutes that would provide a very narrow list of potential culprits. polaris is a search system whose features could find the client in question. but even that depends on the package maury is paying for, they might have a cheap version with limited ability to create searches like this. but even a basic program should be able to give them a short list.
but, we're not like cops, and being the knob who blacks out words is not like being a rapist. i think that is why they are going with public shaming.
but, we're not like cops, and being the knob who blacks out words is not like being a rapist. i think that is why they are going with public shaming.
18
I'm a librarian, too. All you have to do is flip through the book to determine if it's damaged BEFORE checking it back in (and wiping out the patron data). When it's still charged to somebody's account, you can look up who checked it out and note the damage and fine, which remains in the system until it's paid/cleared. Since the library knows they have a problem, they should be able to do this and rack up a nice list of evidence pretty quickly.
19
Point of fact, I bet the douche doing this prolly already enjoys Christian fiction.
Also, I once checked out a book (some supposed Sci-Fi classic) many years ago, and some vandal had replaced every "his" and "him" and so on with "her" and "hers" and etc. It was an odd read.
Also, I once checked out a book (some supposed Sci-Fi classic) many years ago, and some vandal had replaced every "his" and "him" and so on with "her" and "hers" and etc. It was an odd read.
20
@18 that's the option i'd choose, too, but they decided not to, and went to for the public shaming. i think it's idiotic, but it's still an option.
21
Someone with that much free time on their hands should either start volunteering massively or just commit suicide and get it over with.
23
We had a similar "corrector" working for years at the Bellingham Public Library- primarily on mystery and science fiction novels, this person, most likely a woman, would "correct" the sexual pronouns of every book, thankfully in pencil, crossing out "his" and replacing it with "theirs", removing all "mankind" and similar male pronouns, and replacing them with nice non-gender specific ones.
Politically correct, but annoying as hell when you read the book, and find out some prig has decided they know more than the author.
Politically correct, but annoying as hell when you read the book, and find out some prig has decided they know more than the author.
24
Sentence someone who blacks out the word 'fuck' in books to a lifetime of Christian fiction? Isn't that kinda like sentencing a pedophile to a lifetime service in a daycare center? My guess would be people who have a thing about profanities are usually those reading Christian fiction to begin with. That sentence wouldn't really be a punishment.
26
@18 KJ, that violates the patron's privacy, and is not in accordance with ALA rules (strict).
-another librarian.
-another librarian.
28
@26, no it doesn't. When a book comes in damaged, you can note that and fine the person. That's not a privacy issue, as long as you have a policy for damages. I hate when librarians think there's no recourse for this kind of shit. You damage an item, you're responsible for it. The "list" exists in the patron record. Same as any other list of fined items.
29
And I should clarify that most circulation systems make note of what item was damaged/lost/late when a fine is applied. It goes away completely when the fine is paid or suspended. You can't go around looking through people's records willy-nilly, but it's regular practice to note a damaged item upon return and flag it. At my (academic) library, we don't fine for a broken binding, but will if it's waterlogged, ripped in half, or yes, marked up.
30
Sorry, one more thing. I'm not advocating giving the records to the police. You can deal with it internally by cohering to your own library code of conduct. We'd fine the person, and for repeated violations, possibly ban the person from using the library at all.
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