FYI/Hawaii/Public Reaction

[Pat Wallace <DENWALL@AOL.COM>]

Forward to Ms. Kelly King and all other members of the Hawaii State Board of
Education (keking@MAKANI.K12.HI.US)

Forward to LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU, PLGNET-L@cornell.edu,
RPE-L@uhccvm.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu, pubyac@nysernet.org

Date:  Mon, Nov 25, 1996
From:  DENWALL
Subj:  Hawaii: Public Reaction to Execution of B&T Contract
To:  Members of ALA/Social Responsibility Round Table/
Alternatives in Print/Acquisitions Committee
From:  Denwall@aol.com (Patricia Wallace

TO ALL:  Material  mailed  to  me  by  State Library  staff  member,

BOOKS:  $11 Milliion Experiment Worries State's Librarians
Honolulu Advertiser, 10-2-96, A1 & A3
Harvey Dickson, Staff Writer

"Hawaii is the only major public library system in the United States
to use a private vendor for all its book purchases and selections.
Library administrators call the arrangement "virgin ground."

"Baker & Taylor...is supplying 60,635 books for $1.2 million during
 the contract's first year.  About 12,000 books had been received
through the end of August.  Librarians say they were consulted by the
company, one of Forbes Magazine's Top 500 private companies for the
past three years.  But they say that  books received...reflect almost
none of their recommendations.

"Wayne McDonnell, in charge of the Hawaii project for Baker & Taylor,
said:  "Our selections were made basically in the blind, without good
access to what was on the shelves."...

"Baker & Taylor charges $20.94 for each book, even if the list price is
$3.99.....Once books have been shipped here, they are considered
"used" and cannot be returned....

"Branch librarians complain that books shipped...have arrived with several
problems:  poor or inappropriate writing for young  readers; shelving labels
glued  to the front covers instead of spines;  bad bindings and other
problems.

"Some examples:
______________________________________________________
                                                                   List
            Library       Number
      Title                        Problem              Price           Paid
          Ordered
______________________________________________________
Disney Babies          Poor writing            $7.98        $20.94
         56
Bedtime Stories        Garish

Disney's James        Unacceptable      $16.95        $20.94          45
& the Giant Peach    Quality

Popposites                 Vulnerable to       $14.95        $20.94
         21
                                      wear & tear

Dinah for                     Copies in system $3.99          $20.94
        37
President                     4 checked out
Source:  Hawaii State Library

"Librarians say unpacking shipments from the Baker & Taylor warehouse
is like opening a grab bag:  You never know what you're going to get."

Pat Matsumoto, who works in the language, literature and history
division of the Hawaii State Library is quoted:

"I'm not personally against outsourcing, because every successful
business outsources some of what it does.  But this is a major function
of libraries.  We could have (outsourced) cataloging, processing, but
don't outsource selection to someone in North Carolina and then give
them a blank check."
________________________________________________________
LIBRARY HOTLINE (The Weekly Newsletter from Library Journal & School Library
Journal),
Vols.  XXV, No. 43 & 44--Oct. 28 &  Nov. 4, 1996.

Several officials from Baker & Taylor were interviewed for these new
reports.  Bart Kane is quoted as saying :  "This HSPLS project has
received nationwide publicity and B&T realizes their reputation is at
stake."  B & T was obligated to select all 60, 635 books for 1996 between
April and mid-June,  but the addendum to the contract with B&T was not
signed until March 28th and libraries did not receive copies until late
May or early June.  Profile sheets were completed by librarians before
details of the contract were known. A Selection Advisory Committee to
represent branch input has just been established and was not in place
when 1996 funds were expended.  Arnie Wright, Senior VP of Operations and
Purchasing for B&T, conceded in  a Library Hotline   interview that the
company should have had a "deeper level of profiles up front," and should
have had the Selection Advisory Committee earlier in  the game.
________________________________________________________
*******************************************
EDITORIAL/ THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER/10-3-96/ A10
LIBRARY MESS:  FIX BOOK-BUYING CONTRACT--NOW

"It is hard to decide what is more unbelievable:  the details of a botched
book-buying contract between the state library system and a Mainland
contractoror the explanations for why it has gone so wrong.

"The idea, in theory, might have sounded like a good one...But in
practice...according to disgruntled librarians, the experiment has been a
debacle...Library official John Pennebacker said we are in a 'period of
adjustment'  and most problems will eventually be resolved....

"Hawaii taxpayers should not be forced to spend one penny more for books they
neither want nor ordered..Enough with the excuses...The State Board of
Education, which is in charge of the libraries, should demand answers right
now.  Taxpayers need guarantees, immediately, that this experiment in
'outsourcing' will either be put right or somehow canceled."

[NOTE:  HARVEY DICKSON, the Advertiser Staff Writer most interested in this
issue, can be reached  at 808-525-8070 (Voice) or 808-537-9664 (Fax). ]
________________________________________________________
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*
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR IN THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER

9-7-96/ LOREN EKROTH
"When  I visited a Honolulu branch library last  week, a children's librarian
told me that new purchases are both fewer and of uncertain quality, and that
 she can do nothing about it.  Penebaker (Kane's Assistant) and Bart  Kane
should be  aware that giving librarians more responsibility for service while
simultaneously removing  authority to make professional decisions on  the
collection is a prescription for low morale and burnout."

9-12-96/ ELOISE VAN NIEL--Retired Librarian
"The consequences of relinquishing book selection...are:
--no replacement for old titles (such as classics);
--no added titles of worthy authors -- good  books that happen
   not to be best sellers;  and
--no attention to the special interests of Hawaii's readers.....

The hours when a library is open may be inconvenient, but  what  you
find on the shelves once you're inside a library is more important."

10-9-96/ READERLINE
 O.Y. CHOW, Retired Librarian
"The collection is the development of a lifetime.  We don't  like to see a
life's work go down the drain...The public library system is paying for junk.
 That's not saving."

MORRY COPPER, Preschool Teacher
"I was appalled when I read that they were buying Disney books  for $22
for our children.  The quality of books has always been excellent in the
past...I certainly hope that they cancel this contract."

STEPHEN DAVIES
"If it was..virgin territory, or an untried idea, why did they make it for 5
1/2
 years?  .....This is just one more in a long series of real poor
administration [decisions] on the part of Bart Kane...backed up by (Gov.)
Cayetano."

GIV HORNFIELD, Retired writer
"The imbeciles...who chose a Mainland firm should be fired, and  the contract
terminated, even if it costs.  In the long run, it  will save us a bundle.  I
believe local librarians know best what to order."

10-12-96/ ROBERT HAMBLIN
"I use the State Library's periodicals section a lot and I have been dismayed
by the drastic cuts ...The outsourcer refuses to handle  important reference
items such as Kelly's Blue Book and Value Line.....
I  am afraid that the State Library can no  longer function as a first-class
resource library. "
[NOTE:  B&T is required to spend 3% of budget on reference books, although
some library departments  used to spend as much as 30% of their budget on
such books. Librarians say they are having to cancel scores of periodical
 subscriptions just to maintain basic reference services.] "I was told that
some magazines are available ...on line, but
it is not satisfactory for those of us who love to browse."
________________________________________________________
*******************************************
10-4-96/  Letter To: Lex Brodie, Hawaii State Board
of Education
Fr: Mrs. Constance Hagiwara, Retired Librarian

"I was totally shocked to read about the State Librarian's contract with
Baker & Taylor, and couldn't help wondering why the Board of Education ever
approved it?  One need not be a businessman to have asked a few simple
questions:

1.  If this is such a good deal, why has no other major library ever done
     it?...

2.  Why pay $11.2 million to an outside company to do the work that
      professional librarians are already being paid to do, and doing
      well?...

3.  Is there a provision in the contract for a trial period...If not, why
not?

4.  Does anyone really believe that B&T will supply  many books that cost
     more than $20.94, when they will be losing money to do so?...

I fear that our library collections...will suffer...from the poor quality of
selection by a profit-motivated company whose bottom line must surely be of
paramount importance.   Before our libraries go completely downhill, I'm
asking you and the other Board members to act prudently and cut our losses,
the sooner the better.  I'm sure we'll be the laughing stock of the library
world the longer this fiasco continues."

The Board of Education
1390 Miller Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
___________________________________________
*******************************************
10-10-96: INTERNAL HSPLS E-MAIL
Fr David Thorp, Librarian, Koloa Branch
To Diane Eddy, HSPLS Project Manager for B&T
Contract and All Users

"I was dismayed once again to open a box from B&T yesterday and find
 titles of questionable value (in terms of circulation potential)....With
every
B&T  shipment my ability to meet the real interests of the reading public
here goes down.  The collection I have worked hard for five years to make a
responsive quality collection is being quickly eroded and made mediocre...

"When is Mr. Kane going to get it that selection is a core element of public
service...With limited funds the best way to make the most of limited budget
dollars is to let branch staff make the bulk of final selection decisions.  I
just  don't buy that there is not time, in this age of e-mail and fax
machines, for branch staff to preview proposed B&T selections and eliminate
titles they don't want and indicate ones that they do want.  If we can't do
this, the number of shelf sitters we get is just going to grow and grow - and
waste taxpayer money...

"It is unworkable to not be given a budget total for the quarterly
 replacement  title ordering....Even under CSS (Centralized Selection)
branches got to set the amounts that they wanted  to spend in different
collection areas.....There are whole Dewey areas that I would drop to focus
limited funds on more basic needs [if I could]. The inevitable waste of
taxpayer funds...looms extra large in its impact for smaller branches [that]
deal with a level of selectivity that B&T will never really understand....No
matter how much B&T refines its selection  process, they will always be less
effective in maximizing the selection of needed and  popular materials in a
particular branch than branch staff  would be.

"Even more than desiring more staff on the floor, the public wants their
taxpayer dollars spent wisely and responsibly.  They deserve no less... I am
not saying we should break the B&T contract - just modify it to allow branch
review and title substitution."

INTERNAL HSPLS E-MAIL IMMEDIATELY AFTER CAROLINE SPENCER'S GAG ORDER

"I think Bart needs to read this type of e-mail so he can get the job
done....In all the e-mail sent lately complaining about results of
outsourcing, are any allegations untrue?  Doubt it!  Obviously staff needs to
vent & others need to see they are not alone in their frustrations."

(Bobbie at Waialua Branch to All Users)

"Bart: A little over three years ago you announced at a manager's meeting
that you were going to create chaos.  Congratulations!!! You've succeeded.
 Now, What's your next trick?        (Anon to All Users)
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