Come on, Neil!

I like Neil Gaiman. I think he's kind of a hero in many ways, and he was the honorary chair of this year's National Library Week.  But I don't think he's totally immune from criticism regarding the $45,000 speaking fee he recently charged a Minnesota library.  True, he's got a good reason for such high rates, and true, he does plenty of pro bono work for many libraries, but 45K is a bit much to comfortably stomach when libraries across the board are struggling as they are.

Truly, though, I think the people that deserve the lambasting are board of the taxpayer-funded Legacy Fund, the foundation that approved the fee.

UPDATE - 05/13/10
So a friend filled me in on a few details that I had missed, such as the fact that the money used had been budgeted by the Legacy Fund specifically for bringing in a high profile speaker, and if Neil hadn't accepted the cash, it wouldn't have rolled over into a future budget and would have expired in a month.  Also, Neil turned around and donated the proceeds to charities, including his long-time fave the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  He comments at length on the brouhaha on his own blog.

So! I guess Neil's hero status has been restored.