Life in a Police State
It seems like it has been a bad couple of weeks to be a library Director. Jackie Griffin of the Berkeley Public Library recently resigned under a settlement agreement with the city. Jo Ann Pinder was fired as Director of the Gwinnett County Library without any reason given (although some questionable ones were hinted at). But this one really concerns me as well.
Library Director Michele Reutty is under fire for refusing to give police library circulation records without a subpoena. Reutty says she was only doing her job and maintaining the privacy of library patrons. But the mayor called it “a blatant disregard for the Police Department,” which needed her help to identify a man who allegedly threatened a child. Reutty, the director for 17 years, now faces possible discipline by the library board. – Merry Firschein
Reutty is in trouble acting “in accordance with New Jersey state statutes governing access of private information from libraries.” While she may have violated procedure by not contacting the borough attorney, it seems from the comments that that is not what the upset is all about. It was not all that long that Steve Roberts lost his job for doing essentially what she didn’t.
I guess whoever said that “No Good Deed goes unpunished” was correct.
