Librarian Lambasted for Allegedly Saying 9-Year-Old Should 'Step Aside' After Winning Too Many Reading Competitions – But She Tells Us Media Have It All Wrong

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Post-Star has created a firestorm after claiming a New York librarian denigrated a 9-year-old who won too many reading competitions, but the woman is now telling TheBlaze that the media has it all wrong.

The Post-Star's story, which alleges Hudson Falls Public Library director Marie Gandron said the successful child "hogs" the popular Dig Into Reading event and should "step aside" to let others win, also says the librarian is looking to change the winner of the competition from the person who reads the most books, to a name drawn out of a hat.

The story was picked up by a number of news outlets, including TODAY and msnNOW, but Gandron told TheBlaze the story has been blown completely out of proportion.

Tyler Weaver calls himself 'king of the library'. (Photo WTEN/ABC10)

"Nothing happened. I wish I could comment at this time but I must follow the order of my Board of Directors..." she wrote in an email to TheBlaze.  "To answer as much as I can ... I do not believe I ever used the word 'hog' ... but the reporter called me during a really busy time here and if I said that (which is not a word that rolls off my tongue too readily) I do not recall it at all."

She added that the proposal to draw names out of a hat was "second hand information" that didn't come from her.

"That's all I can say for now. Except that I'm getting a little bit of a laugh from the hate mail that has me listed as another of those Obamaite Liberals advocating Socialism. Huh?" she wrote.  "I didn't vote for Obama either time and I'm just about as Conservative as you can get."

Apparently it all began mother of 9-year-old Tyler Weaver, who calls himself "king of the library," contacted the Post-Star after her son won the library's "Dig Into Reading" event for the fifth year in a row. She said her son read 63 books from June 24 to Aug. 3, and has read more than 373 throughout all the contests.

But when the Star-Post contacted the library, the library's director allegedly made the disparaging comments about the young bibliophile.

Tyler's mother, Katie Weaver, told TODAY she was "really, really angry" about the situation, adding: "I think Tyler deserves an apology. I want him to see that even though one person disagrees, if it’s something he wants to pursue, I think he should go for it."

Lita Casey, who has worked as a library aid for 28 years, even told the Post-Star that Gandron's alleged proposal to draw the winner's name out of a hat is "ridiculous."

“My feeling is you work, you get it,’’ Casey remarked. “That’s just the way it is in anything. My granddaughter started working on track in grade school and ended up being a national champ. Should she have backed off and said, ‘No, somebody else should win?’ I told [Gandron], but she said it’s not a contest, it’s the reading club and everybody should get a chance."

More on the story via WTEN-TV, below:

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