Today’s episode: The Competition

Our Sweet, Humble Protagonist (SHP) was standing at the front counter sorting though boxes of gift books. He was talking to one of his co-workers when the Mildly Deranged Boss (MDB) emerged from the depths of her office holding two posters, both of which screamed READ from the top. The SHP is sure you’ve all seen these before. Usually, a famous person (Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Miss Piggy, etc.) is holding a book in the hopes that it will encourage people to, well, you know, read. It’s a great campaign and each city was given the opportunity to launch their own READ campaigns using local flavor/heroes. The two posters the MDB held in her hands were produced by the Austin Public Library. Each bore the APL logo way down at the verrrry bottom. She held the posters up high and asked, “Does anyone want these posters? I’m never going to hang them here because I’m not interested in putting myself out of business.”

The SHP exchanged a look of utter confusion with his co-worker. His co-worker, having worked here for nearly 15 years, knows the sad extent of the MDB’s derangement. She asked the MDB, “Why would hanging those posters put you out of business?”

The MDB replied, “Because it’s got the Austin Public Library logo on it. I’m not in the business of advertising for other libraries.”

The SHP very patiently gathered his books and left the front area as quickly and orderly as possible. He then burst into a fit of exasperated laughter.

The notion that this sort of competition exists between libraries is absurd on so many levels. This is a college library, established for the students, not the general public, which is who the Austin Public Library serves. Displaying a poster with APL’s logo on it is not going to affect us in the least. However, the fact that the majority of our collection is ten years out of date affects us on a daily basis.

But why focus our efforts on the obvious when APL is so much more dangerous?