This could have been a stupid liberal idea thread post. Haven’t had many of those in a while.
Ayup. That’s how I feel about this. Plus the stupidity of handing the Foxworld yet another club with which to beat the Evil Libtards.
The books were essentially an award for the school’s excellence. That’s why they didn’t go to some random struggling school. And, if they HAD gone to some random school it would be all “OMG Melania Trump thinks she can fix our failing schools with $15 in Dr. Seuss books!!!”
But that wasn’t their purpose. The books were marked by the White House and intended to be an “Attaboy” that was perhaps something the school could share with the students instead of a worthless plaque or scrap of paper to hang on the wall.
Saying that Melania Trump (or the administration) was “using” the school is just silly. The only reason anyone here even knows about it is because this librarian made a big stink.
Dr. Seuss is still a classic that kids still love reading and parents have fun reading with their kids. The list of alternate titles the librarian suggests makes me wonder if she has any idea at all why we’re still reading his books a half-century later. I’m sure the other books have their own merits but I sincerely doubt that any budding reader ever delighted to “My mom was taken by the immigration police” at bedtime the way they do to Fox in Socks. Are kids not allowed to read for fun any more?
Taking a gift that Melania Trump says was meaningful to her because she shared them with her son and then shitting all over it is just tactless and petty. I guess they can’t teach basic manners in librarian school.
Do libraries even want donated books? I was under the impression that most donated books wind up in book sale bins. What they really want is cash to buy the books they actually wanted/needed instead of the stuff you had lying around the house.
This doesn’t really apply to the Trump gift since, again, the purpose of it wasn’t really to shore up their library but rather to give an award the students could touch and enjoy.
Maybe the story angle will be “even most liberals agree that this librarian is a dipshit.”
Yeah, probably not.
DT deserves every bit of disrespect, in any form it can be manifested. This librarian’s a hero. I think I’ll stand and put my hand on my heart the next time I hear the anthem. And I’ll honor her as I do it.
Was it petty? Fuck yea it was. But these are difficult times.
That’s cool and I’m glad it happened. My impression – and I’m open to being wrong – is that it’s more of an edge case and most libraries get donations that don’t suit their needs. So the donated books get sold for pennies on the dollar during library book sales with the proceeds going towards buying books that they DO need/want. Heck, even the site you linked says that they have an Amazon Wish List (and the later entries show piles of Amazon boxes) as opposed to random donations.
All this is secondary to the actual thread topic, of course.
Former librarian here (now retired). My perspective: An elementary school library probably has all the Dr. Seuss books already. However, the existing copies are probably grubby and worn from constant handling by young kids, who aren’t usually big on hygiene. I would have kept the new copies from Melania, and maybe tossed the old ones if they’re really gross and falling apart.
IMHO, the librarian was looking to make a political statement. I find this a little odd. Most librarians are politically liberal, but generally avoid getting into politics on the job (other than resisting pressure to ban particular books).
Most books donated to libraries are crap (no, we do not need your old copy of Windows 95 for Dummies), but if it was appropriate for the collection and in good condition, I wouldn’t care who donated it.
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I agree.
Dogs and cats, living together…
snipped
I knew there was something wrong with you…
As a librarian, I tend to see donations like this from someone as wealthy as the Mrs.Trump du jour as the equivalent of leaving quarter (as in $0.25) tip at a restaurant. It’s obviously just a publicity stunt and a cheap one at that. If she really wanted to do something to help that particular library, money would be better or if for some unfathomable reason she had to give those particular books to somebody, there are poor, urban and rural libraries that need them.
It wasn’t a donation, it was effectively an award and acknowledgement. They gave it to a top performing school in every state. Calling it a publicity stunt is sort of amusing since there’s 49 other schools no one can name who got the same thing and accepted it graciously; we only know about this one because of the librarian’s hissy fit.
As an award it’s the equivalent of painting a used bottle cap and trying to pass it off to a wounded solider as the Purple Heart. if Mrs. Trump du jour can’t do things right, they should keep her out of the public eye.
No, not really even a little bit. The Purple Heart has established meaning. It was something nicer and with more thought than a sheet of paper suitable for framing. Acknowledge the school and give the children something from the White House that they can hold and interact with rather than something stuck on the wall.
People just want to be all pissy because it has the Trump name attached to it. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Very few people just want to be all pissy because it has the Trump name attached to it.
I mean, if I think this kerfluffle’s beyond the pale, it can’t possibly have mainstream liberal support.
Too obvious???
True that. I’m lightened by the fact that 95% of people seem to think the librarian was off her rocker.
Really stupid things done by Republicans or conservatives that bring shame onto all of them in 2017:
76
Really stupid things done by liberals or democrats that bring shame onto all of them in 2017:
1
It’s about time you guys stopped sandbagging and got on the board