The original story said “Palette Cleanser” in both the story, and the headline. I am never, ever going to live this down. Chain me up, throw me into the pit.
Well isn't my cup full after reading all of the comments on this! No, my cup runneth over! Thank you everyone, all this library and librarian love will give me momentum for some time to come. Y'all warm the cockles of my heart.
One thing for all of you in the U.S. - on Friday the Orange Menace signed an executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides support and most importantly grants and other funding to public libraries across the U.S. Libraries (and museums) are already struggling in the U.S., without losing the funding they get from a federal level. Now more than ever you need to use, vocally support and fight for your libraries. It may seem like a low priority thing in the scheme of things happening in the U.S. but libraries are really vital now more than ever.
If nothing else, there is a petition you can sign:
Years ago I commented on one of your forums asking for advice about what to do with myself after graduating college and feeling super directionless. You told me to just try out things that felt right and basically take it a day at a time. Ultimately, I ended up at the public library. I never expected that career path for myself, but it really is the most special and important place. Very full circle moment for me and webworm!
Was a public librarian for 12 years (no longer, but a rabid supporter) and god. Kath's right about it getting more challenging. The amount of patrons with high and/or complex needs skyrocketed after the pandemic, and our existing patrons with such needs required a lot of extra support because their safe space had closed for months. And now there's all this anti-queer sentiment drivel deciding to show up and inflict constructed moral panic violence against underpaid library workers. Given how many queer librarians I know, it's likely to get more unsafe for them too. That's when they start leaving, and, to get tinfoil hat, they get replaced with people with an ominous agenda. That's why this shit has to get pushed back on, and soon, and hard.
But? I think about the last library I worked at, and the hardworking librarians dedicated to providing community programs - digital literacy, safe banking for seniors, movement classes for seniors, children's programs twice a week, holiday programs - great for those struggling with COL and childcare, providing free space for social groups - and the main complaint I heard from the librarians there was that they couldn't do more. That there wasn't time in the day or funding or support to do all the things they wanted to do.
I feel like libraries are one of the last places that defend the "bread and roses" ideal - that it's not enough to have just "necessities" of life, but have as much right to art, culture, and enjoyment as anyone with high income. There are very few people who can afford to buy every book or DVD or now board game that they want to try. Why shouldn't my rates go to people's joy, to people's entertainment? My taxes seem to be funding landlords and Shane Jones' lobster so I'd rather the other money I have to pay went to something good, like making sure the formerly-reluctant-reader gets the latest volume of the manga series they like. Or that someone with low vision has access to audiobooks. Or, you know, anyone can get access to things that give them happiness, because I think joy and knowledge are as much human rights as shelter or food.
Please support libraries and librarians. It's a lot of work for very little pay and now is becoming dangerous. They are too precious to lose.
I too am an ex-librarian, and it was my best job ever. I was a children's librarian which was very fun and rewarding, and only gave up because of ill health. It's sad that the world seems to be turning to shit in so many ways but thanks for keeping an eye on it all for us :)
And this morning we read that Seymour want to 'clean out' local governments by putting Act candidates up at local body elections. He says councils need to focus on necessities, not the nice-to have things. I suppose he would include our wonderful, precious libraries in this category.
It's disgusting. It's always a struggle to get people invested in local politics anyway, so my fear is that apathy will mean these dickheads sneak in because no one will stand up. But then - tinfoil hat - it's easy to put candidates forth when rich people are bankrolling them.
Then again the current NZ government doesn't think shelter or food is a human right so I'm sure that argument holds no water. I am waiting for the coalition to try to introduce workhouses.
Like David I'm thrilled to see so many librarians popping up here on Webworm.
There are SO many things we could do in libraries, we WANT to do in libraries, but can't because we're already stretched to the limit and what funding there is doesn't cover everything we need. We are very talented at doing stuff on the smell of an oily rag, but we just can't take any more strain - doesn't matter where you are, public libraries are all in the same situation. We need the general public to go out and advocate for us!
Hi Kath, that was lovely to read. I am back in the city (Otepoti Dunedin) where I lived for a while as a teenager. I used to go every single day to the library here, as it was my safe, happy place in the mess of my life. Libraries always have been that place and I hope that a quiet revolution can make that happen again.
The library in town in Otepoti is fabulous, I went there years ago while on holiday. I can't stay out of libraries when I travel, but they've always got free wifi, so super handy when one is travelling. They were super friendly in there too.
It's terrible that anybody promoting tolerance and inclusion should live or work in fear. Thank you The Right. But here's a respite story. A few weeks ago I took my 13 year-old son to an Armageddon-style event in Te Atatu (Non-Kiwis: event for gamers and fantasy fans in an Auckland suburb), downstairs from where the thuggery had occured just a week or two before. I noticed some cops at the doors to the Community Centre/Library but didn't think much of it, not making the connection to the earlier right-wing violence. I was in the adjoining library while my son and his friends did the stalls, played games, etc. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Loud, pumping music and deafening cheers and squeals of approval. Yes, some drag queens were entertaining the kids and they were loving every second, many joyfully boogying along. The kids are alright!
In the context of typos, I want to apologize beforehand that my keyboard ALWAYS magically anagrams the word into "Density" when I refer to the Eftpostle Brian's Church of the Blackshirt.
Thank you David & Kath! Reading was my complete joy as a child and my respite from a difficult neurotypical world as a then undiagnosed ADHDer with dyspraxia. At times I even resorted to quickly eating my lunch in the school loos and then spending the rest of the lunch hour in the library. When my mental load got a lot higher due to study, I struggled to read for pleasure, rediscovering it when I finished studying. I found myself struggling to read for pleasure again as an adult a few years back before realising that a) I had nearly always read for pleasure lying down at home, and b) if I was watching too much TV it sated my desire for fiction so I couldn't focus on reading. I stopped binging so much TV and started reading in bed again and my capacity to read for pleasure came back. COVID lockdown helped a lot in this respect! I do almost exclusively read ebooks these days because I can often get the next book in a series electronically when it won't be in the local library when I go in. I've also discovered some amazing series of books this way, and totally recommend Dana Stabenow's Kate Sugak series.
I was the treasurer for Redcliffs Public Library, an entirely volunteer run library in the suburb of the same name in Christchurch for 3.5 years and helped raise around $150,000 for its rebuild after the building was demolished following bad damage from the 22 February 2011 earthquake. It's a very successful volunteer library and it's a testament to the (mainly) older women in Redcliffs who have kept it running for so long. It celebrated 100 years in 2014 and the brand new library was opened in December 2016 after some hard fighting with the Christchurch City Council who owned the site and had been gifted the land by the organisation back in the 1950s for the brick building to be built for the library. Fortunately the local councillors and community board members were absolutely supportive - it was harder getting it through past a small number of staff members who didn't get the importance of the place.
I worked in the same building as the Matuku Takotako Sumner library for a few years in my last job and librarians were wonderful to work with. They were very accepting and kind, especially to some of the crankier elderly individuals representing another organisation also housed in that building. Lol. At that stage I got a lot of books out of the physical library as it was just across the foyer from my office. Moved organisations and it's just easier to do eBooks now since I really want to go home after work rather than run the gamut of a busy mall to get into my local Council library (and the voluntary library in my area doesn't have the open hours Redcliffs does so I don't get there as it is only open when I'm actually at work!). So, libraries are a place of learning and refuge and being accepted for me. Especially as a kid and when I was on a benefit and couldn't afford to do much for entertainment. Library books were my main source of entertainment at the time apart from broadcast TV as streaming really wasn't a thing back then. And child-appropriate drag performances are totally okay by me! F Destiny and all responsible for that bigotry.
👍🏾I'm almost exclusively e-books now & delighted when I discovered librariies via "Libby" app have them by the thousands 🤗 Still visit physical libraries as a restorative & take advantage of the legal sessions with JPs to witness documents
Gosh, I’m second. I love libraries. All those books just for me. I was sad when our old library became defunct and a new one built because the new one doesn’t smell like books. Mind you that must have been twenty years ago so time I got over it. Here’s to all the amazing librarians
What a wonderful woman Kath is,- so glad she found such a rewarding ecological niche in the library. How thrilled would Eric Le Carre be to see his caterpillar alive and well wriggling along Kath's stunning jumper.
Haha, you've cleansed the palate of my memory there , thank you Esther. It has been 40 years or more since I read the book..
Now that you've brought me in from the cold and back to these comments maybe I could ask Kath where she got her jumper from? Thinking that attached caterpillar could make a good spying device.
I bought it some years ago from Peter Alexander. Technically it's a pyjama top, but I wear it as a jumper. They've not re-run it since unfortunately, but they do have regular children's lit ranges. I really wish I'd have got in on the Bluey range!
Thank you for this, Kath and David! Libraries are so important for the community and a safe haven for many individuals. I used to be on the library board when we lived in a small and conservative western Wisconsin town. The library was a great resource for our local kids who identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community as well as any kid that needed a place to be when school wasn’t in session. We would get people that would visit and hide LGBTQ+ books or religious texts that weren’t Christian. The staff was also berated due to them extending their mask mandate longer than other gathering spaces in the community. It can be so difficult for the staff to receive criticism from the public, especially at how low of a wage our library staff was paid. It’s really such a shame. This is a public service for everyone, not just one particular group of people.
Thank you Kath, it's good to hear something nice for a change as a bit of respite from *gestures broadly* all of this.
Like you, the library was my sanctuary as a child. I was a painfully shy & socially awkward little child (hello undiagnosed ADHD) with very few friends, but plenty of bullies, and it all just got worse in my teenage years. Every weekend all I wanted to do was be by myself quietly and read. However, every Saturday my Mum wanted me to get out in the fresh air and socialise and have fun.
I didn't know how to tell her that I didn't have many friends, or little interest in the things my peers were into or that I was petrified of running into one of my bullies in the very small town we lived in. So I took myself off to the library and spent the whole day there reading by myself. It was quiet and it was safe and I would go home and pretend to my Mum that I'd had a fantastic time hanging out with friends.
Libraries are so important so thank you, and all librarians, for the work you do.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised the right is attacking libraries. Ignorance is the fuel for facism and bigotry, so naturally they need to tightly control the ideas people are exposed to.
For any US worms, I highly recommend the Libby app. You can borrow e-books and audio books from your local library. And you can also stream free movies through Kanopy. All you need for both is a current library card.
👍🏾Just mentioned Libby to someone else... Love it as I can take "books " on my phone & sit & read while out for a walk - carrying heavy bags did in my neck so one device/multiple uses 😁
Biggest love from a fellow librarian for this. I miss being in a public library, even with some of the more er, interesting, things that happen there. I'm currently at a science research library. No one threatens to throw a computer at me or inappropriately exposes themselves, but the range of joy I get to see from helping someone find the right book or figure something out on the computer is limited. The scientists are appreciative and do get very excited about science books but it's not the same as introducing a child to an exciting new fiction book. 😆
The interesting stuff that must pass over your desk... my god! I recently became obsessed with a research paper that got stuck into the reasons we dream. Much more complex than I ever, ever thought.
The original story said “Palette Cleanser” in both the story, and the headline. I am never, ever going to live this down. Chain me up, throw me into the pit.
"Palette Cleanser" would be a good name for a brand of turpentine, though.
Lol. It works if you consider painting instead of the mouth.
Well isn't my cup full after reading all of the comments on this! No, my cup runneth over! Thank you everyone, all this library and librarian love will give me momentum for some time to come. Y'all warm the cockles of my heart.
One thing for all of you in the U.S. - on Friday the Orange Menace signed an executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides support and most importantly grants and other funding to public libraries across the U.S. Libraries (and museums) are already struggling in the U.S., without losing the funding they get from a federal level. Now more than ever you need to use, vocally support and fight for your libraries. It may seem like a low priority thing in the scheme of things happening in the U.S. but libraries are really vital now more than ever.
If nothing else, there is a petition you can sign:
https://action.everylibrary.org/eoimls2025
Pinning this - and again, thanks for writing this Kath. Very glad to have you as a freelancer for this piece.
Just want to say, I LOVE your jumper! And your hair is gorgeous too. Thank you for being you, and sticking up for inclusivity in this fractured time
Years ago I commented on one of your forums asking for advice about what to do with myself after graduating college and feeling super directionless. You told me to just try out things that felt right and basically take it a day at a time. Ultimately, I ended up at the public library. I never expected that career path for myself, but it really is the most special and important place. Very full circle moment for me and webworm!
Oh, Sydney! MY HEART!
Was a public librarian for 12 years (no longer, but a rabid supporter) and god. Kath's right about it getting more challenging. The amount of patrons with high and/or complex needs skyrocketed after the pandemic, and our existing patrons with such needs required a lot of extra support because their safe space had closed for months. And now there's all this anti-queer sentiment drivel deciding to show up and inflict constructed moral panic violence against underpaid library workers. Given how many queer librarians I know, it's likely to get more unsafe for them too. That's when they start leaving, and, to get tinfoil hat, they get replaced with people with an ominous agenda. That's why this shit has to get pushed back on, and soon, and hard.
But? I think about the last library I worked at, and the hardworking librarians dedicated to providing community programs - digital literacy, safe banking for seniors, movement classes for seniors, children's programs twice a week, holiday programs - great for those struggling with COL and childcare, providing free space for social groups - and the main complaint I heard from the librarians there was that they couldn't do more. That there wasn't time in the day or funding or support to do all the things they wanted to do.
I feel like libraries are one of the last places that defend the "bread and roses" ideal - that it's not enough to have just "necessities" of life, but have as much right to art, culture, and enjoyment as anyone with high income. There are very few people who can afford to buy every book or DVD or now board game that they want to try. Why shouldn't my rates go to people's joy, to people's entertainment? My taxes seem to be funding landlords and Shane Jones' lobster so I'd rather the other money I have to pay went to something good, like making sure the formerly-reluctant-reader gets the latest volume of the manga series they like. Or that someone with low vision has access to audiobooks. Or, you know, anyone can get access to things that give them happiness, because I think joy and knowledge are as much human rights as shelter or food.
Please support libraries and librarians. It's a lot of work for very little pay and now is becoming dangerous. They are too precious to lose.
It's so great to see so many librarians - current and former - here on Webworm. My heart!
I too am an ex-librarian, and it was my best job ever. I was a children's librarian which was very fun and rewarding, and only gave up because of ill health. It's sad that the world seems to be turning to shit in so many ways but thanks for keeping an eye on it all for us :)
And this morning we read that Seymour want to 'clean out' local governments by putting Act candidates up at local body elections. He says councils need to focus on necessities, not the nice-to have things. I suppose he would include our wonderful, precious libraries in this category.
He continues to be pretty repulsive in brand new ways each week!
It's disgusting. It's always a struggle to get people invested in local politics anyway, so my fear is that apathy will mean these dickheads sneak in because no one will stand up. But then - tinfoil hat - it's easy to put candidates forth when rich people are bankrolling them.
Then again the current NZ government doesn't think shelter or food is a human right so I'm sure that argument holds no water. I am waiting for the coalition to try to introduce workhouses.
Like David I'm thrilled to see so many librarians popping up here on Webworm.
There are SO many things we could do in libraries, we WANT to do in libraries, but can't because we're already stretched to the limit and what funding there is doesn't cover everything we need. We are very talented at doing stuff on the smell of an oily rag, but we just can't take any more strain - doesn't matter where you are, public libraries are all in the same situation. We need the general public to go out and advocate for us!
Now I'm no longer (officially) a librarian I can do that!
The people who are in the trenches will always have my support.
Hi Kath, that was lovely to read. I am back in the city (Otepoti Dunedin) where I lived for a while as a teenager. I used to go every single day to the library here, as it was my safe, happy place in the mess of my life. Libraries always have been that place and I hope that a quiet revolution can make that happen again.
The library in town in Otepoti is fabulous, I went there years ago while on holiday. I can't stay out of libraries when I travel, but they've always got free wifi, so super handy when one is travelling. They were super friendly in there too.
It's terrible that anybody promoting tolerance and inclusion should live or work in fear. Thank you The Right. But here's a respite story. A few weeks ago I took my 13 year-old son to an Armageddon-style event in Te Atatu (Non-Kiwis: event for gamers and fantasy fans in an Auckland suburb), downstairs from where the thuggery had occured just a week or two before. I noticed some cops at the doors to the Community Centre/Library but didn't think much of it, not making the connection to the earlier right-wing violence. I was in the adjoining library while my son and his friends did the stalls, played games, etc. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Loud, pumping music and deafening cheers and squeals of approval. Yes, some drag queens were entertaining the kids and they were loving every second, many joyfully boogying along. The kids are alright!
Thanks for this, Peter.
I think I might have posted this a week or two ago, but was late to the party and I doubt many saw it. Apologies to any that did.
Hurrah for libraries and librarians, everywhere!
In the context of typos, I want to apologize beforehand that my keyboard ALWAYS magically anagrams the word into "Density" when I refer to the Eftpostle Brian's Church of the Blackshirt.
This is a spelling mistake that is absolutely allowable. And encouraged.
Eftpostle 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 hahahahahahhahaha
Thank you David & Kath! Reading was my complete joy as a child and my respite from a difficult neurotypical world as a then undiagnosed ADHDer with dyspraxia. At times I even resorted to quickly eating my lunch in the school loos and then spending the rest of the lunch hour in the library. When my mental load got a lot higher due to study, I struggled to read for pleasure, rediscovering it when I finished studying. I found myself struggling to read for pleasure again as an adult a few years back before realising that a) I had nearly always read for pleasure lying down at home, and b) if I was watching too much TV it sated my desire for fiction so I couldn't focus on reading. I stopped binging so much TV and started reading in bed again and my capacity to read for pleasure came back. COVID lockdown helped a lot in this respect! I do almost exclusively read ebooks these days because I can often get the next book in a series electronically when it won't be in the local library when I go in. I've also discovered some amazing series of books this way, and totally recommend Dana Stabenow's Kate Sugak series.
I was the treasurer for Redcliffs Public Library, an entirely volunteer run library in the suburb of the same name in Christchurch for 3.5 years and helped raise around $150,000 for its rebuild after the building was demolished following bad damage from the 22 February 2011 earthquake. It's a very successful volunteer library and it's a testament to the (mainly) older women in Redcliffs who have kept it running for so long. It celebrated 100 years in 2014 and the brand new library was opened in December 2016 after some hard fighting with the Christchurch City Council who owned the site and had been gifted the land by the organisation back in the 1950s for the brick building to be built for the library. Fortunately the local councillors and community board members were absolutely supportive - it was harder getting it through past a small number of staff members who didn't get the importance of the place.
I worked in the same building as the Matuku Takotako Sumner library for a few years in my last job and librarians were wonderful to work with. They were very accepting and kind, especially to some of the crankier elderly individuals representing another organisation also housed in that building. Lol. At that stage I got a lot of books out of the physical library as it was just across the foyer from my office. Moved organisations and it's just easier to do eBooks now since I really want to go home after work rather than run the gamut of a busy mall to get into my local Council library (and the voluntary library in my area doesn't have the open hours Redcliffs does so I don't get there as it is only open when I'm actually at work!). So, libraries are a place of learning and refuge and being accepted for me. Especially as a kid and when I was on a benefit and couldn't afford to do much for entertainment. Library books were my main source of entertainment at the time apart from broadcast TV as streaming really wasn't a thing back then. And child-appropriate drag performances are totally okay by me! F Destiny and all responsible for that bigotry.
👍🏾I'm almost exclusively e-books now & delighted when I discovered librariies via "Libby" app have them by the thousands 🤗 Still visit physical libraries as a restorative & take advantage of the legal sessions with JPs to witness documents
Thank you I had not heard of that series I am starting now
The Kate Sugak series is great I've read them so many times
Gosh, I’m second. I love libraries. All those books just for me. I was sad when our old library became defunct and a new one built because the new one doesn’t smell like books. Mind you that must have been twenty years ago so time I got over it. Here’s to all the amazing librarians
Give it time, it will smell like books before long!
Twenty years Kath. I’m eighty. I don’t have time
What a wonderful woman Kath is,- so glad she found such a rewarding ecological niche in the library. How thrilled would Eric Le Carre be to see his caterpillar alive and well wriggling along Kath's stunning jumper.
Eric Carle / John Le Carre - turns out the hungry caterpillar was actually a spy all along
Haha, you've cleansed the palate of my memory there , thank you Esther. It has been 40 years or more since I read the book..
Now that you've brought me in from the cold and back to these comments maybe I could ask Kath where she got her jumper from? Thinking that attached caterpillar could make a good spying device.
I bought it some years ago from Peter Alexander. Technically it's a pyjama top, but I wear it as a jumper. They've not re-run it since unfortunately, but they do have regular children's lit ranges. I really wish I'd have got in on the Bluey range!
Protec Kath! Protec Librarians everywhere!
That was a wonderful 'palette cleanser' thank you. Libraries as a bastion of resistance to imported hateful bigotry campaigns.
Thank you for this, Kath and David! Libraries are so important for the community and a safe haven for many individuals. I used to be on the library board when we lived in a small and conservative western Wisconsin town. The library was a great resource for our local kids who identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community as well as any kid that needed a place to be when school wasn’t in session. We would get people that would visit and hide LGBTQ+ books or religious texts that weren’t Christian. The staff was also berated due to them extending their mask mandate longer than other gathering spaces in the community. It can be so difficult for the staff to receive criticism from the public, especially at how low of a wage our library staff was paid. It’s really such a shame. This is a public service for everyone, not just one particular group of people.
Thank you Kath, it's good to hear something nice for a change as a bit of respite from *gestures broadly* all of this.
Like you, the library was my sanctuary as a child. I was a painfully shy & socially awkward little child (hello undiagnosed ADHD) with very few friends, but plenty of bullies, and it all just got worse in my teenage years. Every weekend all I wanted to do was be by myself quietly and read. However, every Saturday my Mum wanted me to get out in the fresh air and socialise and have fun.
I didn't know how to tell her that I didn't have many friends, or little interest in the things my peers were into or that I was petrified of running into one of my bullies in the very small town we lived in. So I took myself off to the library and spent the whole day there reading by myself. It was quiet and it was safe and I would go home and pretend to my Mum that I'd had a fantastic time hanging out with friends.
Libraries are so important so thank you, and all librarians, for the work you do.
My story is very similar, only it turned out to be undiagnosed Autism. Libraries literally saved my life!
Lovely piece, Kath!
I guess I shouldn't be surprised the right is attacking libraries. Ignorance is the fuel for facism and bigotry, so naturally they need to tightly control the ideas people are exposed to.
For any US worms, I highly recommend the Libby app. You can borrow e-books and audio books from your local library. And you can also stream free movies through Kanopy. All you need for both is a current library card.
We have the Libby app in Aotearoa New Zealand too (looks like it's pretty international), it's awesome!
And Kanopy too for movies here in NZ, along with Beamafilm. Other apps you can hook into your library with are borrowbox cloudlibrary and hoopla
Libby is available in lots of countries, definitely NZ and Australia.
👍🏾Just mentioned Libby to someone else... Love it as I can take "books " on my phone & sit & read while out for a walk - carrying heavy bags did in my neck so one device/multiple uses 😁
Kath's jumper though! ICONIC
Biggest love from a fellow librarian for this. I miss being in a public library, even with some of the more er, interesting, things that happen there. I'm currently at a science research library. No one threatens to throw a computer at me or inappropriately exposes themselves, but the range of joy I get to see from helping someone find the right book or figure something out on the computer is limited. The scientists are appreciative and do get very excited about science books but it's not the same as introducing a child to an exciting new fiction book. 😆
*Another librarian enters the chat*
The interesting stuff that must pass over your desk... my god! I recently became obsessed with a research paper that got stuck into the reasons we dream. Much more complex than I ever, ever thought.