Library Director Quits, Cites Wi-Fi Dangers

-- Library Journal, 01/18/2007

Rebekah Zablud Azen, who served briefly as the librarian at Quimby Memorial Library, Southwestern College, Santa Fe, NM, resigned from her position on December 16 because of Wi-Fi in the library, according to a statement issued on her behalf from the Council on Wireless Technology Impacts. She cited concerns about irradiation and alleged that administration refused to discuss the issue. College spokesman Alex Ross told LJ that Azen, who had been on the job less than two months, had not raised her concerns about Wi-Fi during her employment interview but afterward had asked for the system to be turned off. He said that claims of health dangers from Wi-Fi were "controversial."

The campus serves a graduate student population  of under 100, offering "transformational education" to train counselors. "The students overwhelmingly support the Wi-Fi service the college offers on campus," Ross said. Azen told LJ that she was "under the impression" that the campus didn't have Wi-Fi and believed that a Wi-Fi hub contributed to feelings of ill health she experienced. She acknowledged that she had not had that confirmed by a doctor but pointed to the Council on Wireless Technology Impacts as a source for information on the potential health effects from Wi-Fi.