Embarrassing story covered up?

Yesterday at the library I discovered a likely cover-up of an ugly episode in the region's past.

You can log on to the Internet from home to access an index to the libe's newspaper collection. If you find an interesting article referenced in the index, you can go to the library later and read the article itself on microfilm.

While the local media in recent times has covered up stories like serial school harassment, it used to be pretty good about keeping folks informed. The apparent cover-up I found yesterday wasn't by the media but by someone trying to prevent the public from accessing media accounts. The cover-up concerns an unfortunate story of bigotry from some years ago.

I've read that regional history buffs don't dwell on stories like this, because they want history to be all good-timey. And I'm told there have been cover-ups of stories like this in other American locales.

Anyhow, I looked for the microfilm reel of the Kentucky Post issues that would've had articles about this story. In the drawer where the reel should've been, there was no reel. Instead there was an empty box that was the same size and shape of the reel boxes, bearing a sticker that said, "FOUND IN INDEXING." In other words, the libe had index entries to the articles, but not the articles themselves.

I concluded that the library likely did not intentionally lose that reel. I know I've had problems with the libe censoring my website on its computers, but if the libe was going to censor this story, it never would've included index entries for it. Besides, a small account of the story in the Cincinnati Enquirer was not missing from the library's collection.

I believe the reel was stolen. I think a disgruntled library patron didn't want the story getting out, so they smuggled the reel out of the library. Maybe that's why the library put the camera in the ceiling. Then again, the camera is at such an angle that the thief probably would not have been caught.

Varying levels of embarrassment could result from the suppressed story. Everyone in the immediate area probably knows someone who would feel personally embarrassed by it, but I was looking for details about actions, not people. I'll likely never know exactly what went on, all because someone decided I didn't have a right to decide for myself what to read.