Monday, December 23, 2019

The Airing of Grievances

The secular holiday Festivus, popularized on a 1997 episode of Seinfeld, is celebrated on December 23. Presented by a character on the sitcom as a non-commercial alternative to Christmas glitz ("a Festivus for the rest of us!"), Festivus traditions include an undecorated aluminum pole rather than a tree, a simple dinner, demonstrations of "feats of strength," and ceremonial "airing of grievances." The episode was inspired by the family traditions of Seinfeld writer Kevin O'Keefe, who described the origins of Festivus to Time magazine in 2016.

Festivus and its "airing of grievances" immediately sprang to mind when Goodson Law Library staff came across this treasure from the Law Library Archives: the Law Library's Comment & Grievance Book for 1973/74.

Comment & Grievance Book 1973/74

This tattered spiral notebook gives a fascinating glimpse into law student life more than 45 years ago. Presumably housed at or near the service desk, library users left all sorts of comments, suggestions, and complaints in the pages over the course of the academic year. Library staff would occasionally respond with handwritten comments indicating that a problem had been reported or handled.

Some of the common complaints of the era will feel completely alien to today's law students: repeated complaints about inadequate photocopying facilities, desire to access the locked "periodicals cage" on weekends, and numerous suggestions for which print magazine subscriptions to add (someone really, really wanted Gloria Steinem’s Ms. magazine, still a relatively new publication at the time). We’re particularly relieved not to receive complaints about smokers in the modern law library:

Request to enforce no-smoking rule


However, many of the concerns will feel just as familiar to law students today as they did in the 1970s. For example:

The library was too cold!

Concerns about library being too cold


Except when it was too hot!

Concerns about library being too hot


But then it was too cold again!

Concerns about library being too cold


People kept reserve items past their due time!

Comment regarding overdue reserve items


The Comment & Grievance Book also featured an annual poetry contest in its pages during the month of April, with unspecified prizes to be awarded by staff.

7th Annual Quasi Modo Poetry Contest Rules


A few student entries incorporated some common library grievances:

It's always cold in here / It's always hot in here / But always / At the wrong time of year


Lengthy poem by student on mischievous library elf

These days, Goodson Law Library users can share their comments and concerns (whether in verse or prose) via an online Library Suggestion Box. During this holiday season, the Suggestion Box is on a short hiatus from official responses, due to various University closures and limited staffing. Administration will resume responding to new suggestions on January 6, 2020. In the meantime, we hope our community enjoys a safe and happy winter break, as well as this walk down Duke Law memory lane.