The Library Diaries Ends Chapter in Author's Library Career

"Open this book and you’ll meet the naked patron, the greedy, unenlightened patrons, destination hell, the masturbator, horny old men, Mr. Three Hats, and a menagerie of other characters you never dreamt were housed at your public library." That's from the blurb for The Library Diaries (PublishAmerica, June 9, 2008) a fictional account based on a public library employee's on-the-job experiences.

Write the book and you will get fired! That what happened to Sally Stern-Hamilton, a 15-year employee of the Ludington (Michigan) public library who wrote The Library Diaries under the pen name Ann Miketa and did not mention the library by name. [Chicago Tribune]. Here's Sally's iReport account:

After working for fifteen years at a public library in the rural midwest, I wrote a fictionalized account of a woman's experiences working in a public library. My director found the book offensive, probably because it doesn't show the director in the book in such a bright light, but ostensibly I was fired because my little 150 page book might make, "some of our patrons uncomfortable" or "some patrons may not come to the library anymore because of my book."

Thou shalt not criticize the boss in print. Time for Library Director Robert Dickson's termination? [JH]