Controversy continued to swell around the Hopewell Public Library today, as protestor appeared for the third day in a row. Numbering more than 200, they are demanding reforms and justice.
“I’m just saying,” said one protestor, “if these librarians were wearing body cameras, none of this would have happened.”
“It’s shameful,” said another. “They’ve been mistreating patrons for years, it’s only now that we’re starting to wake up.”
At issue is the shushing of unarmed patrons and the assessing of fines in a discriminatory manner. Nine patrons have been shushed since the first of the month, with witnesses and cell phone video seeming to show that the unarmed patrons were shushed despite no detectable noise level. All of the nine were patrons like teenagers, creepy older men, or middle-aged busybodies–all groups that have alleged targeting for mistreatment.
“They shushed me the other day because the other patrons could hear my Nickelback through my headphones,” said one protestor. “That’s straight-up Gestapo treatment, man!”
“I got shushed because I kept asking that cute librarian for her phone number,” said another. “What is this, Soviet Russia?”
Protestors also allege that librarians have been assessing fines in a way that is judgmental and discriminatory. Users from the above groups say that they have been singled out for fines for simply not returning items on time.
Pressed for comment, the Hopewell Public Library has declined to issue a statement at this time, pending a press conference to be held tomorrow at 2:30 EST. This has not muted calls for the librarians in question to be prosecuted and for the State Librarian to resign.
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