Dear Editor:
As I entered the Brandon Township Public Library for the first time, 14 years ago, I was nearly run over as its entire staff of two ran out the door to chase a fire engine.
‘But should we leave the library unintended?? asked librarian #1.
‘Well, we are supposed to be well informed, aren’t we?? responded librarian #2 as she bounded across Mill Street in hot pursuit of Engine Number 2.
Today, the Brandon Township Public Library is situated in much more lavish digs, with fine woodwork, copper roofing, and even a cupola, putting to shame not only the old library, but also most of our homes and businesses. Now, it takes a staff of two people just to stand idly at the circulation desk.
With all this money being spent on the library these days, is someone running the place? Or is the level of discipline and common sense unchanged from those fire engine chasing days of the 90s?
As my personal answer to this question, I recently came across a press release praising a sucessful ghost hunt, a part of the Brandon Township Library’s Adult Education Program. With the aid of a professional paranormal investigator from Grimstone Inc., a group of people were recruited by the Brandon Public Township Library to go out at night into our cemetries to scare up real or imagined ghosts. Visiting the library to see if this story was a joke, I found that the staff had no problem with the accuracy of the press release and furthermore was quite proud of the program.
For me, this answered any questions that had remained about the competence of our library’s staff, management, and board. But it also generated the following questions:
Spiritualism, the belief in paranormal communication with the afterlife, is an acknowledged ‘religion.? Why is the Brandon Library? a publicly funded organization ? recruiting for, organizing and conducting religious activities? Isn’t this illegal?
Why is the Holly Lakeside Municipal Cemetery issuing ghost hunt permits? Isn’t there a conflict between protecting our loved ones? final resting places and, on the other hand, providing Brandon Library staff and patrons with an amusement park?
At a time when some of our neighbors are making difficult choices between food, medicine, and property taxes, isn’t it time for us to realize that the Brandon Township Public Library has too much of our money and too little contact with our community standards?
Bill Kissel
Ortonville