Re: Libraries in the Millennium

[Pat Wallace <DENWALL@AOL.COM>]

Forward from  Patricia D. Wallace,  Chair, Hawaii Working Group
(ALA Social Responsibility Round Table /Alternatives in Print Division)
SLIS graduate student, Texas Women's University
Denwall@aol.com

The following message has been cross-posted; please excuse any
duplication.
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From: Larry Naukam <lnaukam@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us>
Head, Acquisitions, Serials & Documents
Rochester/Monroe County Library System
To: Multiple recipients of list <publib@nysernet.org>
Subject: Re: Libraries in the Millennium
Date: Jan 21, 1997

      It  should be fairly obvious by now  that libraries - larger public
ones at least - are following the decline of American business.

     I have a friend whose story illustrates this. He was an exec at a
manufacturing firm, and they pumped up stock price and yields by
letting go their workers, gradually replacing all of them with a
MAQUILLADORA operation in Mexico.   Of course, the idea of
actually making more money by sales never entered into the
equation. They eventually tanked the company because they
couldn't cut costs any further and their sales  didn't bring in
enough to keep the company afloat.

     See a parallel? Libraries show little loyalty to their extremely
dedicated employees, demoting them,  abolishing their jobs,
outsourcing, or using part time non degreed non professionals
(and I am not saying that the newer people are unintelligent or
incompetent - they just are not librarians, but  the public=taxpayers
THINK they are) in place of professional staff.

     Eventually there are low paid part timers without degrees and highly
paid executive staff.  Public service is down the tubes,  because why
would a person making near minimum wage care about a collection,
reference service, etc. when there is zero chance for a reward for them
other than the modest paycheck? The pubic expects professional
service and essentially is cut out of the loop by the extreme focus on
money- -which, in our line of work is necessary.

     What can we do to clue in the public that we are necessary to get
 them  the books and other sources necessary to accurately meet their
information needs? Will we let Microsoft Libraries take over? Bill Gates
would love to hire us for chump change and low benefits. But  what  about
our constituencies? And what about the fairly low level of competence
demonstrated by the book suppliers  (yes, I deal with numbers of  them)
who cheap out  by hiring  the lowest  possible level that  they  can get
away with?

Yours from the breakdown lane of the infobahn...

Larry Naukam
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From: Larry Naukam
To: Multiple recipients of list <publib@nysernet.org>
Subject: Christine Hage's response
Date: Jan 24, 1997

        If I sometimes sound a bit strident, well, I'm getting to be an old
codger. Still, I care PASSIONATELY about  the profession and it's work.
It  makes a difference in my and other people's lives, having a good
library and good people to staff it.

      And what I try to do is notice something at the start, so it can be
allowed to grow if good, and yanked out by the roots if it's bad.
And now, for cost reasons I am sure, I know libraries which use
non-librarians regularly at reference positions.

      I do the ordering  for a major city library and system  and I see
what we buy. I buy it. When I give talks or do community relations
outside, I am asked  questions constantly about plans for Internet,
CD-ROMS, newer services, and the like. <...> I encourage the public
to contact the management people or the librarians in the subject
areas that they are concerned with, and pose their questions to them.

      But it's 1997 and the general  public does generally have access
to outside sources of information  that we MAY know about but do not
provide, or not as well as AOL or other computer related services.
I think that if the public perceives us as being behind the curve, then
the Benton report scenario of libraries being staffed by volunteer retirees
might come to pass sooner than we think. Letting the public know that
we are trying as hard as we can with the tools that we have is good
enough. Letting it ride, ain't.

Rewarding initiative and excellence, even in small ways, is vital.
<...>The key is to reward, in some manner, the people doing the best
jobs for the public and the organization. <...> It's a tough call, but I
think
 that we have to really see, somehow, how we are perceived by the
real world, and get ourselves a better image.

Larry Naukam
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