My name is *** ***, and I am writing you about an incident that took place at the Tempe Public Library today that I believe was a result of discriminationI entered the library today with my children and immediately took them down stairs to the children's sectionWhen I got there, I asked the gentleman at the desk if I could get library cards for my childrenHe hesitated at first but said yes, and continued on through the processI didn't think much of his attitude because he did do what I askedThen I asked to reserve a computer but I did not have my card on me so he asked for my I.D, and made a reservation based on my infoWhen I was done and printed my paperwork, I returned to the desk and asked the staff member (now women), how to print without my library cardOne of the women quickly answered and said "well how did you get on the computer in the first place without your card?" She had a very nasty attitude when she said thisI explained how the gentlemen helped earlier, and with an even worse attitude she responds and says "well he wasn't supposed to do that!" I then just looked at her with confusion because I go to the Phoenix libraries and they let me sign in with just my identification all the timeBefore j could respond she tells me that I can use my last name to login and print and I did and proceeded to go upstairs to exitWhen I walked out of the building, my children and I passed through the book monitor and we beepedSo I stopped and the clerk waved to signal me to come back inThe kids walked in before me and didn't beep but when I came though I beeped once moreI mentioned to the clerk that my purse beeps all the time at different storesShe asked if I had any books in my bag, and I said noAs I stood there waiting for her to say we were good to go, she continued to look over in my purse as if she didn't believe me! I have never felt so disrespected, judged, and embarrassed at a library of all placesI mean I am a student at ASU, a mother of and a wife, so what reason would I want to steal a children's bookI'm studying to become a teacher and I have a passion to contribute to my community, not take away from itI go to the library all the time, and I've always encountered friendly staff who are willing to help at the Phoenix librariesHowever I see now that this isn't the case in TempeI really felt like they were discriminating against me because of my raceI saw these same staff members acting friendly with patrons who were whiteI don't normally file complaints about things like this, but this one struck a nerve with me because my children were with me and didn't understand why we were being treated that way
My name is *** ***, and I am writing you about an incident that took place at the Tempe Public Library today that I believe was a result of discriminationI entered the library today with my children and immediately took them down stairs to the children's sectionWhen I got there, I asked the gentleman at the desk if I could get library cards for my childrenHe hesitated at first but said yes, and continued on through the processI didn't think much of his attitude because he did do what I askedThen I asked to reserve a computer but I did not have my card on me so he asked for my I.D, and made a reservation based on my infoWhen I was done and printed my paperwork, I returned to the desk and asked the staff member (now women), how to print without my library cardOne of the women quickly answered and said "well how did you get on the computer in the first place without your card?" She had a very nasty attitude when she said thisI explained how the gentlemen helped earlier, and with an even worse attitude she responds and says "well he wasn't supposed to do that!" I then just looked at her with confusion because I go to the Phoenix libraries and they let me sign in with just my identification all the timeBefore j could respond she tells me that I can use my last name to login and print and I did and proceeded to go upstairs to exitWhen I walked out of the building, my children and I passed through the book monitor and we beepedSo I stopped and the clerk waved to signal me to come back inThe kids walked in before me and didn't beep but when I came though I beeped once moreI mentioned to the clerk that my purse beeps all the time at different storesShe asked if I had any books in my bag, and I said noAs I stood there waiting for her to say we were good to go, she continued to look over in my purse as if she didn't believe me! I have never felt so disrespected, judged, and embarrassed at a library of all placesI mean I am a student at ASU, a mother of and a wife, so what reason would I want to steal a children's bookI'm studying to become a teacher and I have a passion to contribute to my community, not take away from itI go to the library all the time, and I've always encountered friendly staff who are willing to help at the Phoenix librariesHowever I see now that this isn't the case in TempeI really felt like they were discriminating against me because of my raceI saw these same staff members acting friendly with patrons who were whiteI don't normally file complaints about things like this, but this one struck a nerve with me because my children were with me and didn't understand why we were being treated that way