ACQNET 7.3: 3RD Comment on Hawaii Contract

[Pat Wallace <DENWALL@AOL.COM>]

Forward from  Patricia D. Wallace,  Chair, Hawaii Working Group
(ALA Social Responsibility Round Table /Alternatives in Print Division)
Denwall@aol.com
The following message has been cross-posted; please excuse any
duplication.

SEE MY EARLIER FORWARD dated 1-9-97 WHICH THE MESSAGES
BELOW RESPOND TO:

>From: Eleanor Cook (Appalachian State U.) <cookei@appstate.edu>
>To: acqnet-l@listserv.appstate.edu (acquisitions/ technical
> services listserv)
>Subject: ACQNET 7:2:Subject: Baker & Taylor's Outsourcing Contract
   with the   Hawaii Public Library System: a Summary
>Date: JAN 6, 1997
************************************************************************
From: ELEANOR COOK <COOKEI@conrad.appstate.edu>
To: acqnet-l@listserv.appstate.edu
Subject: ACQNET 7:3:
Comment on Hawaii Contract with Baker & Taylor
Date: Jan 18, 1997

ACQNET, Vol. 7, No. 3, January 19, 1997 -- ISSN: 1057-5308

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The five responses will be forwarded as a multi-part post.
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POST #3
From: Heather Miller (SUNY-Albany)
<HM766@cnsvax.albany.edu>
Subject: Thoughts on the Hawaii Situation
Date: Jan 13, 1997

     There are many disturbing aspects to the Hawaii/Baker & Taylor
contract, one of the most fundamental being the gross misunderstanding
and devaluation by administrators of many behind the scenes library
functions, particularly those commonly termed,  technical services.
In this case not only technical services, but also collection development
appears to have been sidestepped by the contract.

     The art of collection development, the entire complex acquisitions
and cataloging process and OPAC management tend to be seen as
simple, automatic and expendable when in fact they form the basis of
what the library is. Without them, there is no library for the public
services staff to help patrons use! The addition of electronic resources
has not obviated any of this, but has added to what the behind the
scenes staff can, should and must do if the library is to remain viable.

     The situation in Hawaii illustrates the extremes to which ignorant
people in places of power can go in misguided attempts to save
money.  The basic professional responsibility of librarians is to
connect people with information.  This is not exclusive to those who
work in public service positions.  We all work toward the same goals.
It is ludicrous to think that the library patrons of an entire state could
be well served by materials supplied by only one vendor.  Those of
us who work in this business know that the vast variety of sources and
formats that constitute a library's collection must be obtained in a
variety of ways.  A book dealer that is able to provide current English
language or North American imprints is unlikely to be a good source
for microforms or for out-of-print titles or foreign language publications
or the self-published monograph from Quebec.

     Aside from where the books come from, there is the question of
what the suddenly superfluous library staff used to do.  The answer
is: add value.  They do this by carefully selecting items pertinent
to their clientele, by doggedly pursuing obscure and hard to obtain
materials, faxing, telephoning, hand carrying, picking up at local
bookstores all those must-have-by-next-Monday items, making sure
that the item received is exactly what was ordered, is complete and
undamaged, scrutinizing invoices for error, cataloging materials
in such a way that they fit into the local collection and can be
found by local patrons, managing the OPAC so it is a comprehensive,
consistent, friendly  database.  There is much, much more and many
variations among libraries.

     Technical services and collection development work grow more
complex and more critically needed daily.  The staff in these areas
and their unique skills are needed to build and manage collections
that will for some time to come include many formats, and to create
and manage OPACs that will integrate access to various formats,
locally held and remote, as seamlessly as possible.

     The role of catalogers should be expanding to take advantage
of technological developments that permit increased access to older
materials as well as to Internet-based electronic resources and
everything in between.  The potential for enhanced access to all
kinds of materials is enormous, but it cannot be done by machines
alone.

     The most automatic, simplistic approaches to technical services
functions can indeed result in some books on the shelves and records
in the system, but the end result will be superficial to say the least,
and it seems to me that professional responsibility demands more
than that.  The Hawaii situation is a sad commentary on the willingness
of some to accept such superficiality rather than aiming for the high
quality libraries and library services that the public has a right to expect.

Heather Miller
SUNY Albany
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