Instead of taking pride in a local author, we are criticizing her work of FICTION? What happened to free speech? I'm sure that many authors will tell you that their characters are based on people they know/observe, but they have changed the names. What makes this any different? Her point is valid. Sex offenders can search the internet sitting next to a child, but she can't write and book and work at the library at the same time!? Crazy!

I think the library needs to back off and enjoy the fact that one of their own took the time to put pen to paper and maybe even will bring in a few more people to check out the library. One of the fence posts should be painted with the cover of her book on it as a dedication to local talent.

She is raising valid questions. And how the heck did her real identity become known? Of course she is going to pull some stuff from real life. It is like taking a picture of someone and turning it into a cartoon. You start with the original and you embellish on it until it is something new.

Small town America crushes the spirit of still one more interesting character... I can't believe it... Why aren't you all spending more time concerned about the evils of a =Muslin running for the office of the President of the United States.. I wish every God-fearing/God respecting Church would sound the alarm... before that cute little town on the lake loses its charm... You don't need to condemn that librarian for her way of thinking...

Have any of you even read this book? I was able to pick out every character in this book. Her identity became known because she sent letters to everyone she knew saying she wrote the book. I think if someone hates their job and this town so much, they need to move to an area where there are more intelligent, rich and beautiful people and maybe then they will be happy.

I can't wait to read the book!

Ok, this really irritates me. one we are penalizing a local author for free speech. 2 and this one is big.. the library is a public place owned by the tax payers and operated by people we elect...correct me if i am wrong. So with that said don't the taxpayers have a say in this. After all we pay for that library along with donations. And i highly agree...sex offender should not be allow in the library's in close procimity of children.

before moving from the area i knew both sally and bob for many years. i found them both to be friendly,polite,well versed library employees with whom is was always a pleasure to talk i beleive that sally does not have a mean bone in her body and the bob dixon i knew would never have been offended by this book. he might not have shared the same views expressed in the book but i dont think he would have tried to surpress it. must be pressure from some of the more uptight residents applyed to the library board. i hope sally keeps her job,we dont need that kind of cencership in america.

Ms Miketa-Sterns-Hamilton seems to have been a loose-cannon since the day she was hired, but she always knew which side of her bread was buttered.

One of the first things that one learns when they study library science is that patron confidentiality is the top priority in order to preserve free speech and the basic right of citizens to access information. As a public librarian, Sally violated that tenet and compromised the integrity of the Ludington Library and the privacy of its patrons, any of which could be easily identified (including someone's actual address!). I've read the book and it reads like a treatise on eugenics. It's offensive not only because it violates the patron-librarian relationship but also because it's just plain bad. She was rightly fired.

It seems absolutely ridiculous and hypocritical that librarian Sally Stern-Hamilton was fired because of her FICTIONAL writings (as reported on various internet sites). There must be more to this story than is being publicly revealed. If, however, this is indeed the entire story... your library system leaders sure seem quite backwards, thin-skinned, and mean-spirited. After all, the characters described in the news write-ups can be found in just about any public library -- not just yours. On the other hand, the appeal and demand for this book have been boosted far beyond the narrow (-minded) borders of Mason County. Now the whole world is aware of your pettiness.

Hey Lon: What Muslim is running for President of the United States?

I agree with the folks who say it is a sad thing that she was fired for writing a book. She should be commended. However, who is the dumbo who referred to a Muslim running for President. Contrary to popular belief, saying something over and over again does not and will not make it so. Sen. Obama is a Christian. Not that I am all that excited about that as I an not a Christian (I'm a naturalist, non-thestic freethinker). But that's what he is. Twenty years in a Christian church, being married in a Christian church, being criticized politically for that Christian church.....I think that makes the man a Christian.

She will lose any appeals on this decision. Private citizens should not be harrassed by the whims of a wannabe writer. Brenna is dead on about the role of a librarian in the community. That the work is fictional has no bearing, and in fact may make things worse. Who would want to have a character in a book that represents them in every way, except for perhaps some exaggerations about information use/pervertedness/etc. Which of you who support Sally would want to have to weed out the elements of the story that were true/not true/partially true? And all simply because you exercised your right to access information in a public institution? The library is right to fire her and she should be praying right now that no one in the community sues her for libel/character defamation.

There are a lot more comments on the Ludingtontalks.com forum. If you aren't a part of it yet, you should be!!

It sounds like there are several issues being debated here and perhaps the library, the author and their respective attorneys should probably carry on this debate in private. Until such sound judgment prevails, I’ll add my 2 cents; First of all, I would be curious to know what the library policies are in regards to internet usage. Are patrons restricted from using sites that are available to the general public because they are in a municipal building? If so, what was the action plan in place for the staff to follow if a patron violates a policy? As for any patrons harassing other patrons, sexually or otherwise, I would assume that the staff is required to contact law enforcement in those cases. I do believe that freedom of speech is very important and this authors rights should be reviewed and respected. I also believe that the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, and even registered sex offenders have the right to enjoy services provided by the public library (please reference pertinent legislation if that is not the case). I’ll close as I began…It sounds like there are several issues being debated here and perhaps the library, the author and their respective attorneys should probably carry on this debate in private.

I commend the librarian for writing the book. I can't wait to read it. However, it was just plain stupid to use a picture of her own library, and to let anyone in her home town know that she wrote it. I worked as a nonprofessional in public libraries for over ten years, before getting my Library Science degree. There are stories that I can tell... She really should have taken a bit more care to make sure that individual patrons could not be easily identified. I'll post again, after I read the book.

Maybe Lon should actually use the library to read up on the candidates for U.S. president. That way he'd learn that Senator Obama is not and never has been a Muslim. Unfortunately, his acceptance of this falsehood, meant to scare people away from Obama, shows how effective this king of smear rumor can be. And by the way, I'm a library director who would never even consider firing an employee for writing anything that wasn't outright illegal.

All very interesting. I worked at the Ludington library years ago for a brief time. If Ms. Stern-Hamilton was there while I was - I do not remember her. I need to read the book before commenting extensively, but I will say this. The author didn't do a very good job of keeping the location and her identity unknown. She can write any book she wants to write perhaps, but there are consequences to all actions. That is simply a fact of life. I believe that she was in the right to write the book and that they were in the right to relieve her of her duites at the library.

Muslin? Is that a type of cloth? Or maybe Lon works for Karl Rove and is a poor typist.

I am not from your home town. I am from Florida. I want to know how I might purchase a copy of Sally Stern-Hamilton's book? I realize in this country a citizen can be fired for ANY reason an employer can dream up. However. What happened to FREEDOM OF SPEECH? Is this still America? Authors everywhere take "Creative License." What was boss thinking? I mean he works in a LIBRARY. That is where there are BOOKS. Every author draws from there environment. What is the problem? Give her her job back.

I found the book to be bland. Having worked in the Kalamazoo Libary in the past, the characters described brought back memories--the unique folks and events could have been in any number of places, not just in Ludington. Unless there is more to the personal story, the disciplining of the employee/author does not speak well for the administrators involved.