About a month ago I posted about the situation in Yutan, NE in which some boys broke into the library to view porn and how I felt the “solution” to the perceived problem totally missed the point. Yesterday a co-worked pointed me to an article from LibraryJournal.com about the story. It contained the following closing sentences:
“Library director Verna Milenkovich did not respond to phone calls or emails from LJ requesting comment. On his Travelin’ Librarian blog, Michael Sauers, who works for the Nebraska Library Commission, suggested that the actual problem had not been addressed.”
The link, of course, is to the afore mentioned blog post.
I’ve got some totally mixed feelings about this. Of course I’m glad that LJ linked to me. It shows that someone’s reading this blog of mine and that, in some cases, what I have to say is worth passing along to others. And yes, I do work for the Nebraska Library Commission but yes, I wrote it on my own personal blog which does not represent the views of the Commission or the State of Nebraska. (How’s that for working in a disclaimer without officially stating a disclaimer?)
But, and here’s the core of the discussion I had with that same co-worker this morning, despite making it clear that I blogged about it personally and not officially, would LJ have linked to my post had I not been employed by the commission? I’m guessing the answer is no. It also, to some, may make it sound like I’m some sort of “most official response” they could find since the library itself hadn’t responded. It’s all about context.
Do I want LJ to change the post? No. Do I wish they had done something differently? I guess not. Am I worried folks at the Commission will be upset? No. My boss reads my blog so I’m sure if what I wrote was a problem I’d have heard it back then. It’s all just making me think about how much my personal and professional lives overlap and what some of the potential consequences may be.
Hmmm, this thorny situation is why some companies prohibit employees from engaging in any sort of online activity that might trace back to the business.
The toes of free speech keep getting stepped on my the jack boots of corporate P.R.
I don’t think you are out of line or said anything that should be considered damaging. My personal feeling is that employee blogging enriches a company. Eventually they will have to come to grips with the reality of employee blogging.
BRAVO!