Hey, WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!

Sexism is frequently in the mind of the READER, or LISTENER, not at all in
the mind of the person making the comment.  I'm appalled that my comment
was so immediately taken as SEXISM by MALE readers.....

My intention was to indicate that individuals (note: not MALE, not HUMAN,
not STUDENT.... individuals could be robots for all I care!) who are
TALLER, STRONGER, MORE ATHLETIC make better shelvers than individuals (note:
not FEMALE, not HUMAN, not STUDENT) who are shorter, less used to physical
activity, etc.

There: does that make all of you happier?  I truly didn't mean it to be
sexist...personally, I started shelving in libraries when I was 12, and
shelved all the way through high school, through college, and STILL occasion-
ally shelve (especially periodicals) ... and I can still outshelve most of
our current shelvers, male and female.  I'm not all that tall, or that
athletic, but I've certainly learned how to avoid strains and muscle/nerve
injuries.

I specified "male students" because the original message said the female
students they hired had problems.  Sexism, like many other things (racism,
indecency, and vulgarity, for example) is frequently in the eye of the
beholder.  Think twice before you accuse anyone of such things.

Kathleen Thorne
Serials Cataloger in Exile
San Jose State University