ALA & the suit against B&T

[Pat Wallace <DENWALL@AOL.COM>]

Comment re Message:

Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997
From: Mary Jane Anderson <mjanderson@starbase1.htls.lib.il.us>
To: Multiple recipients of list <publib@nysernet.org>
Subject: Re: B&T Lawsuit

On Tue, 11 Feb 1997, Christine Lind Hage wrote:

> Has anyone investigated the possibility of joining the class action lawsuit

> against B&T?  If the Justice Dept. is filing on behalf of the 15,000 public

> libraries who may have been over charged how do they know who we are?    Is

> every public library outlet in the country going to get a portion of the
> settlement?  Do we have to sign up?  The number of 15,000 is close to the
> actual number of public library outlets in the US.  Does that mean
> libraries using Bro Dart, Ingram, Yankee, etc. will get money too?

ALA Councilors have discussed this via listserv and have been informed
that ALA Counsel is being consulted about what the full story is, and what
our options, individually and collectively, may be.  Stay tuned...

 mary jane anderson
wilmington public library . 201 s. kankakee . wilmington il 60481
815-476-2834 (phone)  815-476-7805 (fax)
mjanderson@starbase1.htls.lib.il.us
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Please note this information from recent news stories:

http://starbulletin.com
Feb. 4, 1997
State joining probe book distributor
Baker & Taylor overcharged libraries and
schools, a suit contends
By Christine Donnelly
Star-Bulletin

The lawsuit was filed in California because that state is Baker &AMP
Taylor's biggest customer, Havian said. It is not a class action, and
other states with similar claims involving taxpayers' money - including
potentially Hawaii - must file their own suits....
A state senator investigating Baker &AMP Taylor's dealings locally said
Hawaii's attorney general should decide quickly whether a state lawsuit
is warranted.

"If we've been a victim, we need to recapture lost funds and the only
way to do that is pursue it legally," said state Sen. Rod Tam,
co-chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
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Patricia D. Wallace
Chair, Hawaii Working Group (ALA Social Responsibility Round Table /
Alternatives in Print Division)
SLIS graduate student, TX Women's University
1st-3rd Multiage Teacher
Harry Stone Montessori Magnet School
Dallas, TX
Denwall@aol.com