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6 Ontario School Library Association The Editor's Notebook Diana Maliszewski Ihave only received three traffic tickets in my life, and they were issued as a result of only two police stops. The first time I was stopped(for expired plate stickers and out-of-date vehicle insurance records) my reaction was less-than-adult: I cried like a baby. I broke the law, so I was ashamed, embarrassed, and a little afraid of the police reaction. The officers were sympathetic and told me that if I made amends by locating my pink insurance form and updating my plate stickers, my tickets would be reduced or cancelled (I can't recall which). The third ticket was for speeding. I didn't humiliate myself by crying that time, but what astonished me was how eager and willing everyone was, from the very officer writing the ticket to the traffic court officials, to explain to me how to escape my punishment and avoiding paying my fine; 1. ask for a court date; 2. challenge the ticket because the officer spelt your name incorrectly on the paperwork. I was perplexed. I admit that I was guilty of speeding and so I was resigned to accept the consequences for my actions. I approached it like the catholic sacrament of reconciliation: seek out the authority/liaison, confess your sins, receive your penance and gain absolution. Doesn't anyone want to take responsibility anymore? My husband saw it in a different light. Laws, he said, are there to discourage worst case scenarios where no other solution is adequate. consequently, they cast a wide net and pick up the little fish along with the big ones, but they are really only concerned with the major lawbreakers. My illegal activities and my husband's explanation fit quite well with some of the rules enforced in school libraries. We have book borrowing limits, but those rules can be made flexible if a student needs an extra book to complete a project, or is a voracious reader, or doesn't have many books at home to enjoy. There are library "crimes", but as our Idea File column in this issue illustrates, there are many creative and constructive ways to "punish" the wrong-doers. Volume 21 Issue 2 contains a feature article by guest writer kelly Jensen, who addresses a "crime" that many of us who work in school libraries may be guilty of committing. This edition of The Teaching Librarian may not be as long as the Dostoevsky classic novel, but I hope it will be as thought-provoking. P.S. Don't tell my parents about this column. They panic when I let my gas tank go to the half-way mark; I can't imagine their reaction if they heard this story! z The Teaching Librarian WANTS YOU! see page 27 for details "ask not what oSLa can do for you, but what you can do for oSLa" JFK might have said that, if he had been a teacher-librarian or school library staff member.