I was checking in on Michael over at Libraryman and found a post about National Unappreciated Librarian Month. When’s National Unemployed Librarian Month, I wonder.

Michael posits a correlation between the “celebration” and this article. I suspect he’s wrong though, as the article doesn’t even mention librarians. Instead, it attributes higher library traffic to the availability of Internet access for those on the wrong side of the digital divide. Now of course the foresight of librarians is at least partially to thank for this, but there is no such acknowledgement. Nor is there any suggestion that the true greatness of the library is the librarians who help people find their way through this ever-growing electronic information network that we are providing access to. While almost everything this article says is accurate, there is no love whatsoever for the role of the librarian.

The most contentious point may actually be a quote from CLA president Wendy Newman: “Everyone wants to be a good parent and one of the things they see as an act of positive parenting is taking their children to the library.” Yeah, if positive means taking their children and leaving them for six hours under the supervision of the librarians until just before closing time. That’s good parenting, all right.

And the article concludes: “Libraries are cool again.” Apparently, librarians still aren’t.