HAWAII GAG ORDER

[Pat Wallace <DENWALL@AOL.COM>]

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To ALL:  A poignant picture of the plight of Librarians in
HawaianPublic Libraries. From Pat Wallace........
.Denwall@aol.com
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Renee Olson reports in her article in the November issue of
School Library Journal that the Honolulu Advertiser
reported October 3rd saying:
"internal e-mail sizzles with reviews, mostly negative,
that say a mainland firm doesn't--and can't--have the
knowledge to buy books for the Hawaii library market."
She continues:  "Early in October, staff received e-mail
from library management forbidding the use of in-house
e-mail for discussion of book purchasing problems..."

On Sunday, November 10th I got this account of that
gag order from a librarian in Hawaii whom I will not identify:
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Le gag order.

You already know about the reengineering that Kane  [Head of
State Library System in Hawaii] initiated.
When Kane eliminated all of the geographic divisions
he also eliminated all of the staff that handled the
day to day administrative tasks, like hiring, supplies,
maintanence etc.  He formed new divisions to handle this.

The person who now oversees the day to day activities
of the state libraries is Caroline Spencer,  Head Librarian
at the Hawaii State Library (The main and largest
branch in downtown Honolulu)  It was she that issued
the gag order.

The gag order came after a YA  librarian lashed out at what
happened at a  Youth Services meeting that was held on
9/27/96.  This particular librarian  was told to leave the meeting
by Caroline Spencer.  We were told to e-mail our evaluations of the meeting.
 This particular YA librarian did that. It took up
several pages and was sent to the entire system
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The following is the gag order sent by Caroline
Spencer on Sept. 30, 1996 at 7:53 AM.
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"I realize some staff members enjoy a good arguement
/debate/discussionbut e-mail isn't the place for it.
Please restrict e-mail to information needed to get the
job done and only include others if the message is pertinent
to all.  Keep e-mail short.  This is a problem for libraries
with only one terminal.

E-mail is not the place for debates, etc.  We have a job to do
and this only takes away from it.  Thank you."
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This gag order that attempts to keep the library staff
from talking to each other is very hard on the outer
islands.  Since long distance calls are prohibited, the only way
they can communicate is through e-mail.  We want to remain
a collective force, but management is trying to isolate us by
1) keeping us from talking to each other,
2) putting each library in a self-directed work team.

On Oct 29, 1996  a system wide e-mail was sent out
expressing dismay over that weeks shipment of B&T
books.  Here it is, as the system read it:

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"I just received this week's shipment from B&T and after
looking with dismay at what I received, I have made some
observations:

Out of 85 juvenile books received 61, YES 61, were paperback.
At $20.94 a pop, someone is making a killing.  Who could
that be? Did we get what our kids are asking for??
Goosebumps?? Choose your own adventure??  Baby-sitters Club??
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.  We got more paperback series that
start in the middle that we have not carried before. We also
received paperbacks for hard copies we already have.

 Why are we getting all these Easy Readers
in paperback???  We are talking heavy circulation here!!!
I KNOW they make hard covers.  I see them in catalogs.
I have touched them at the book stores.  I have them on
the shelf here at this library.  I know they exist!!
I would rather have a hardback that will last many years
longer, than a paperback which can disappear in a bookdrop
moment.  CRUSH!!!!

Let's talk about all this time we are supposed to have for
customer service.  I spend less time now on customer
service because I spend so much time fixing books that
have something wrong with them.  33 of the 85 books do
not have the labels on the spine.  Which means I have
to move them or make new labels.

LESS TIME FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

The new book notation, in the collection field is ridiculous.
Why?
1. Who is going to remove it when the book is not new?
We are.

2. Most libraries have quick easy ways to mark new
books. It is faster to put a dot on them, than to change the
holding record.  If we didn't put these markers on, how
would our shelvers know they are new books?  Double work.

3. The word "new book" in itself is a joke!  Not all new books
are new. I remove the new notation now.  Can you imagine
trying to track down all these books later??  I can just see
patrons 2 years from now looking for a "New Book" that has
been on the regular shelf for year.

LESS TIME FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Since there are so many paperbacks, the spines must be
taped to make them last longer.  More tape.  More time.

LESS TIME FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

A big bad company like B&T could not figure out how to
cover "My Many Colored Days' by Dr. Seuss.  B&T did not
plasticleer covers on all the copies that it sent to the
system.  Are we going to get reimbursed for this??
Our library's gift copy of the book is beautifully
plasticleeredwith all the little color boxes showing.
Does that mean that B&T just gives up when they come
across a problem book?  I can just see them in their offices,
wondering how to cover "My Many Colored Days".
They probably concluded that it was not in the contract
to figure things out, throw it in a box, and get it the heck
out of here.

So.............
We have to do it......LESS TIME FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

I know everyone in the system is reading this.  We are told
that we are being heard.  We are told that things will be
fixed.     When???"
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END OF TRANSCRIPT OF INTERNAL E-MAIL MESSAGE
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Our library was sent an e-mail the following day [Oct.30th] from Caroline
Spencer reminding us to keep our messages short, because libraries with only
one terminal were complaining.

The following morning, I sent an e-mail out to the entire
system asking the libraries to let me know if they did
NOT want to receive long messages.  Only 2 out of 48 libraries saidsend
shorter version.  What I got was an overwhelming
response  saying, that we should NOT be limited to a
'20 words or less' mentality.

Now I will attempt to explain a gag order or rather
lack of one, regarding talking to the press etc.

One must understand not only office politics, but also the
ethnic culture that is Hawaii.  There is a fear to speaking out.
With office politcs, you may not be fired, but you will be made
to feel very uncomfortable.  You may not be promoted, you
may not get funding, equipment may not get repaired.  I know
I am not talking to an ignorant audience.  We ALL know that
outspokeness can get someone in trouble.  Even when
what is said is the whole truth.

Now enter the cultural diversity here in Hawaii.
A lot of the librarian workers come from an Asian
background where, speaking up is often frowned upon
especially if that person is a female.  They may be a 3rd
or 4th generation American but, this rich culture that is
celebrated here, tends to hold some people back.
They want to speak up, but do not often know how.
Please do not assume, that Hawaii librarians have
weak backbones,  inside they are seething at what
has happened with this contract.

They need support more than anything.
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