Folks, if you made up a story like this no one would believe you. The story is good for a laugh anyway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8276243.stm

"Ms Watts, from Islington, north London, said: "I asked why I couldn't borrow a pair of scissors and she said, 'they are sharp, you might stab me'."

I suppose the librarian thought it was kinder saying Ms Watts might harm her than if she told Ms Watts she looked too likely to run with the scissors, cut her own fingers with the guillotine paper trimmer or hurt herself in some other equally bizarre fashion.

I know one librarian who would never lend scissors or paper trimmers because she believes almost everybody in the world wants to cut all the pictures out out of all the library books.
Unfortunately her suspicion had evidence to support it.
Many of the science books in the library she managed had been defaced by the religious folks in the town.

Oh man *winces* I gotta weigh in here. I manage a large urban public library. We only loan out kid type scissors (short with no sharp points). Some years ago we had a guy borrow a pair of regular scissors from a reference desk so he could threaten another patron with them - he was serious. It was a bit tense but nobody got hurt. We then decided to go to the blunt shorty scissors. It's a crazy world.

Sadly theft, malicious mutilation, censorship of pictures and ideas are all pretty common with library books.

Smuggle in a razor blade and cut out the right page from a rare books collection and you can sell the page for several thousand dollars.

I have also seen kids use pictures and text cut from library book in science projects. When asked where they got the pretty pictures the kid said he got them from the library and, sadly, didn't think he had done anything wrong.

There are several local evangelicals who made a hobby of checking out books they didn't agree with and simply failing to return them. They publicly bragged about how they were 'protecting the children' and 'cleaning up the library'. Scores of books were disappeared before their check-out privileges were rescinded. A penalty they loudly protested. Contemplating such behavior makes me crazy.

Gotta tell ya, even the kiddie scissors can be used as a weapon, not well, but ...

In a previous life I was a legal NCO in the Army and got involved in some odd cases. One case involved guy, wife and her boyfriend. Hubby went to assault BF. After breaking a knife, Hubby grabs the nearest weapon, a pair of safety scissors. He proceeded to stab the BF 3 times in the forehead - with the blades apart. Sum total of that injury - 6 somewhat painful looking dents/bruises. No blood. Not even big bruises. What a doofus Hubby was.

And quite honestly, after loaning out probably enough office supplies to fill a good sized store, and usually not getting it back, I can feel for the librarian who tried to keep her scissors.

Does the librarian eat at restaurants where the other diners might use ... KNIVES?

It's really pathetic that some people live in such fear. You wonder how they work up the courage to leave home and go to work.

It's funny what passes for reasoning in some people's heads. If someone cuts someone else with a knife, they want to ban knives. Tens of thousands of people are injured and killed in car accidents, but I don't hear of any group calling for the banning of motor vehicles.

People want laws preventing abortion or capitol punishment until their daughter gets pg, or someone kills their child.

But the fact that they get away with it is incredible.

Sue

One(sic) word: PAPER CUTS

Pfffft. Work in an industry that handles a lot of paper, like printing. After a while you won't even notice them unless they bleed. And even then only because you're getting blood on the stock.

Now, corrugated cardboard. THAT's a cut you'll notice. Trust me.

Okay you have to consider the souce. I lived in London for 3 years and the Englixh tend to be a bit absurd. When I lived in London the number one weapon to rob the local Post Office/Bank was a claw hammer. I did not see the libarians refusal as acutal policay but just self nerosis. It is funny any way.
Cheers

But scissors cut paper.
If they take our scissors the criminals with paper will have won.

What happens to the rules when a perp holds a sheet of paper to the librarian's throat? Ban the books?

Sue

Too true, if they ban scissors then only the criminals will have scissors.

(and if they ban paper then only the criminals will keep books)