IMHO--Hawaii

["Frances D. Aley" <fdaley@SATURN.CAPS.MAINE.EDU>]

Following is a copy of the letter I sent to Mr. Kane--FYI--I'd hope that
many, many others are doing something similar.
Dear Mr. Kane:  From as far away as the coast of Maine I'd just like to
let
you know that I believe you have created a classic textbook case study for
librarians of the future to study--how  *not* to foster collaboration,
good
working conditions and a positive atmosphere for your employees and your
clientele.  As a professional librarian since 1972 (Simmons) I would
simply
like to comment that your actions have been not only disrespectful of the
profession but the antithesis of the training which I can only  assume you
must
have also received.  To turn over the selection of materials to a group of
non-professional, profit-oriented business people is assuredly not in the
best
interest of your patrons as is clearly shown by the reactions of  the
librarians who work for you and by the quality of books being received
from a
company which clearly does not and will never have the best interests of
each
individual collection in mind.  To then allow a gag order from one of your
underlings to go through and attempt to squelch free speech and discussion
is
not only unprofessional but anti-American!  Of course we are all
interested in
cost savings, but to make a unilateral decision in untried waters has
created a
disastrous situation for libraries in your state.  The burden is yours and
I
urge you to get out of that contract, consult your staff and make logical,
collaborative  decisions based on the best interests of your patrons who
deserve professional treatment which is clearly not coming from Baker and
Taylor--Check your selection policies--I seriously doubt that they say
"Turn
everything over to a large corporation and forget it!"  How you could have
ever
conceived of such a thing is beyond me--Tough decisions need to be made in
management, of course, but when one does that it is done utilizing good
business policy, logical collaborative decision-making and a level of
professional expertise which was clearly not utilized in this situation.
Fix
it, Mr. Kane!

web page address--http://www.biddeford.com/~fdaley
fdaley@saturn.caps.maine.edu    Boothbay Harbor, ME.04538
Teaching lifelong learning through the power of information!