Wednesday, November 07, 2007

On Shushing

I'd like to think I would never shush someone in a library. The stereotypical image of glasses, a bun, sensible shoes, and an attitude of condescension sends me reeling, and makes me want to crank up the music and order food and drink for everyone. So it is so frustrating to have to do the electronic version of a "shush" here and turn off comments on the blog. We have become so innundated with spam comments that no real comments can be heard, and as a government agency we really can't allow people to scream "cheap Viagra" in person or online, I guess.

A library, real or virtual, should be a place for freedom of expression. We want your input, and we want you to be comfortable, online and in our libraries. The bottom of every page of this site links to our reference librarians as well as to the webperson. So please, keep your comments and concerns coming through email, and my sincerest apologies for cutting off the dialog that comments create.