Feedback

As a gamer and a paralibrarian, I was disturbed and angered by Joseph Grosso's limited view of games and gamers in libraries (“Mission Aborted,” BackTalk, LJ 9/15/08, p. 34). I grew up gaming and reading Shakespeare.... I love books, but print is no longer limited to the page. It now includes online material and epic role-playing games where reading, writing, and map skills are essential....

Gaming (along with anime, manga, and comics) has opened up the library for kids and teens. We have introduced things like digital editing, writing fan fiction based on games kids enjoy, and creating plans for video games. Gamers create online videos set to music and use text to read and write back and forth online in massive multiplayer games. They write and read reviews to help the library select games.... Games teach players about community interaction, history, civics, and many other subjects....

I am tired of the view of gamers as brain-dead zombies who cannot read, have no interest in reading, and are gullible enough not to know fantasy from reality. It's an outdated prejudice, and I am proud to be a librarian who supports pop culture, video games, and (gasp) reading in my library.

—Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe, Springfield, MA

I find it ironic that appearing in the very same issue in which Joseph Grosso (“Mission Aborted,” BackTalk, LJ 9/15/08, p. 34) complains about public libraries “aborting” their educational mission are two reports that prove otherwise. “ALA: Computer Demand Increases,” News, LJ 9/15/08, p. 14) reports that 83 percent of public libraries provide online homework resources (up 15 percent in a year), and Michelle Jeske's “Tapping into Media” (LJ 9/15/08, p. 22–24) recognizes the need for multimedia collections because “some people learn better through viewing and listening.” Trust me, Joseph Grosso, the educational role of public libraries is very much alive and well and greatly appreciated by library users.

—Cindy Mediavilla, Lib. Programs Consultant, California State Lib., Sacramento

Thank you for “A Perfect Storm” by Suzanne Huff and Laura Wadley (LJ 9/1/08, p. 39–42), the Collection Development article on Mormonism. I found it very, very useful and have ordered most items the Phoenix PL didn't own.

—Kathleen Sullivan, Collection Development Coord., Phoenix P.L.

[To turn over library computers, director Darrell] Batson must have been greatly intimidated by the FBI (John Berry, “Knee-Jerk Values,” Editorial, LJ 9/1/08, p. 8). A lot of us would be. It is too bad that he wasn't aware that he, or the library, was protected by the American Library Association or state law. However, I guess the FBI felt it was on insecure ground and needed a subpoena....

Former New Jersey library director Michelle Reutty was quite aware of her responsibility for her patrons and library. She stood her ground. She was called down for it and felt her job was in jeopardy so she resigned. Shame on the powers that be. Congratulations to the committee that awarded her the Robert Downs Award and to Reutty for standing up for what is right.

—Amanda Pearsall, Charlotte Community Lib., MI

In the section labeled “Where the jobs are” in her “Jobs and Pay Both Up: Placements & Salaries 2008” (LJ 10/15/08, p. 30–38), Stephanie Maatta wrote, “Comparatively, University of Kentucky, an I-school, saw graduates reporting 53.6% placement in public libraries but garnering the lowest average salary levels among the programs.” The School of Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky does not meet the criteria for membership in the I-School Caucus; it doesn't pay a $10,000 annual membership fee to participate in the I-School Caucus. Making generalizations from such a small sample is unreasonable. Maatta fails to...tell how many respondents were from UK SLIS....

—Jeffrey T. Huber, Dir. & Prof., SLIS, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington

The irascible John Berry, controversial as he may be, has known credentials, a life history, a demonstrated commitment to the profession, and a rapport with readers that emanates from knowing who he is, what he is about, and the principles for which he stands. Love him or hate him, John Berry is a real person.... The Annoyed Librarian, now featured on the LJ web site, is a pseudonymous hit man with no known history, unspecified credentials, no identified ties to any community, and no verifiable provenance. Unmask the AL, and let the chips fall where they may. Otherwise, the question of who sold out—AL or LJ—is a legitimate one.

—Bruce Fulton, MLS, Tucson, AZ

In our otherwise favorable review of Linnea Sinclair's Shades of Dark (Romance, LJ 8/08), we confused several details with those from another of Sinclair's novels. The situation has been rectified; apologies to the author.