I haven't had the chance to check in much this week, and now with the emails in my inbox both on and off-list, I need to respond.
Deborah Morse-Kahn basically says that giving away free books would be an undue hassle. "Okay, but who will manage that effort?", she says. If the people over at the library need to assign someone to manage such a simple task, we're in BIG trouble. Rod Krueger, from the Library Board, says that he's asking the library director to talk to the city attorney about this, because he says that the library is legally allowed to THROW OUT ITEMS OF LITTLE VALUE, but they are not allowed to GIVE AWAY ITEMS OF LITTLE VALUE. Now, this is ridiculous. I think this calls for a small piece of legislation next spring if this is in fact true. Talk about another example of government's excess regulations. (I understand that allowing the government to give stuff away could cause graft problems if it gets out of control, but giving away old library books? Geez!) And as for Mr. Krueger's assertion that people want everything to look great, I'm more concerned when the library is rarely open than when there's a few somewhat grubby books. And by the way, the books I saw were not grubby. Take another look at the photos. http://www.southhighsucks.com/minneapolislibrarythrowsoutbooks.html Anyway, I do appreciate the discussion and debate, and I'd love to hear what the city attorney says, Mr. Krueger. I bet it'd be a hoot. By the way, since we're talking about libraries, who else thinks that the huge awning sticking out over Nicollet and Hennepin at the top of the new Central Library is ugly. It sometimes looks like the building is giving me the finger. Boy, I wish we hadn't passed that wasteful referendum. Chris David Columbia Park http://www.southhighsucks.com/ REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
