Public Library Director Wants Summer Reading Club Champ To Step Aside, He “Hogs the Contest” She Says
Here’s the original story from the Glenn Falls Post-Star (New York State) that is now being picked-up by other news organizations from around the globe.
From the librarian perspective, this story is or will soon be a case study in very poor library leadership on multiple levels. It also sadly sends a message that goes against what most if not all members of the library community believe in.
From the Article:
Tyler Weaver calls himself “the king of the reading club” at Hudson Falls Public Library. But now it seems Hudson Falls Public Library Director Marie Gandron wants to end his reign and have him dethroned.
The 9-year-old boy, who will be starting fifth grade next month, won the six-week-long “Dig into Reading” event by completing 63 books from June 24 to Aug. 3, averaging more than 10 a week.
He has consistently been the top reader since kindergarten, devouring a total of 373 books over the five contests, according to his mother, Katie.
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During a phone call Tuesday to Gandron, the library director said Tyler “hogs” the contest every year and he should “step aside.”
“Other kids quit because they can’t keep up,” Gandron said.
Gandron further told the reporter she planned to change the rules of the contest so that instead of giving prizes to the children who read the most books, she would draw names out of a hat and declare winners that way. She said she can’t now because Katie has come forward to the newspaper.
Gandron said she has an “attitude” about the contest because several years ago a little girl came in claiming she had read more than 200 books. Her mother backed her up, but it was discovered the girl was lying.
An aide at the library has filed a complaint about the situation with a library board member.
Read the Complete Story
See Also: ‘He hogs the contest!’: Library director demands that 9-year-old ‘king of the reading club’ be dethroned (via The Daily Mail)
See Also: Evil Librarian Tells Kid Who Loves Books to Stop Reading So Much (via Gawker)
Hat Tip: @mattrweaver
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.