More Responses to Baker & Taylor

[Pat Wallace <DENWALL@AOL.COM>]

More responses from Librarians in Hawaii to Baker & Taylor's
self-defense.  All posts sent to me as Head of the Hawaii
Working Group.  Unfortunately, most librarians in Hawaii insist
that I not reveal their names for fear of retaliation from Bart
Kane.  Forwarded by Patricia Wallace   denwall@aol.com
Anyone wishing to respond or ask questions of librarians in
Hawaii can send their comments & questions to me and I
will forward them to my mailing list of Hawaii librarians.
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From: Branch Library Head in Hawaii
To: Hawaii Working Group
Subject: B & T defense: Selection Advisory Committee
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Pure garbage.  They have not established any  communication to rectify
 this problem.  I have said it over and over - 2 practicing librarians and
2 nonpracticing librarians cannot speak for the entire state.  I have not
been able to locate any librarian who has seen  a list of what B&T has
selected.  I have seen previous e-mails where one  of the selection
committee members expresses hopes they will get more than just a list
of authors and titles.  My understanding is that once a week they are
faxed a list.  Have a few days to look it over and then respond a few
days later.  Does this sound as though this is something four people
can do when it is an additional duty.  I think not.  B&T has done
nothing to endear themselves to librarians and rectify the problems.
Maybe in their dreams!
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Subject: Some help with the response to Baker and Taylor
From: Librarian in the State Library in downtown Honolulu
To: patricia wallace <DENWALL@aol.com>

On the matter of duplicates, there are two points which refute
the explanation of why they were sent:  1)  There was access
to the home page and catalog of holdings, even if Baker and Taylor
staff had no access via DRA.  2)  This is an old library system.
Baker and Taylor was used as a jobber in years past, with Ingram
more recently being a jobber for us.  Common sense would tell
you that an older system more that likely had some copies of a title
issued in the past and that you shouldn't send the reprint
without running a check.  Obviously a list could have been
faxed with speed before anything was sent.
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From: "Grant Gutermuth" <gutent@hgea.org>
To: "Patricia Wallace" <DENWALL@aol.com>
Subject: Hawai

I am a practicing Librarian at Kaneohe Public Library, which is the
RegionalLibrary for the Windward side of Oahu.

As one working under this horrid contract, I appreciate all good
words in support of Hawaii's many Librarians who are degraded,
stripped of their professional duties, and turned into "meeter and
greeters".  I greet Patrons by name every day, as do the other 6
professionals on staff.  One cannot work in a neighborhood library
for 4 years and not know "the regulars".  The contract has sufficiently
endangered our job descriptions, that the union sent written testimony
to the Senate Education Committee in favor of SB583, which makes it
illegal to outsource services for the Hawaii Public Library System when
State funding is involved, and returns the selection of materials to
"public service librarians".  This Bill was drafted with the help of many
Public Librarians, and has passed from theSenate to the House with
the backing of the full Senate.  We are now beginning to work on our
Representatives to get smooth passage through the House.  It is a
shame we must go to the Legislature, when the Board of Education
and the State Librarian should have stopped this "experiment" months
ago.

The BOE is now examining the management qualities evidenced by
Bart'snumerous statements, the contracts, and the evidence revealed
in e-mailshowing no communication with his staff until months after
the contract was a done deal.  Also indicates no response when
problems began to surface and the librarians began to e-mail back
and forth about it.

So there is light at the end of our tunnel - maybe - if we all keep
working at it.

Aloha for now
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From a Branch Librarian :

B&T selections are heavily improved for Adult Fiction. However, YA is
still junk!  And the "number of selections" is 10-20/week!  we used to get
5 boxes, now we get 1.I do believe they are concerned - - finally!  SB538
becomes effective  July1, 1997, if it passes and is signed. I  still believe
NO ONE should have to go through what we are going through. It has
diverted so much time from our normal work, double checking each thing,
that we are behind.
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From another  Branch Librarian:

BOE will probably stick by Kane unless he sticks his foot in his mouth
too much more than he usually does.  Right now they are trying to save
face by not admitting what a big mistake this contract has turned into.
I also think they counted on library employees not doing anything about it.

AG is stilling going over the contract to see if it can be broken.

Right now, the most support we have gotten from the Union is a message
they sent to the Senate giving their support to SB 538 S.D. 1.  Our
Union agent is still not responding to us.

No doubt that Kane thinks he can ride this out.  He knows how to play the
BOE and he has done alot of dumb things in the past 15 years.  He just
out did himself this time.

As I said in an earlier post,  this week we are working on B&Ts new
profiles.  If B&Ts plan is to improve the profiles and make everything
perfectly clear, more finite -- they are headed in the wrong direction.
They are getting murkier and murkier.  Friday branch libraries received
B&T's latest "profile" attempt.  The e-mail was sizzling again.  Last year's
profiles were vague -- this year's are far more vague.  I do not know how
they plan to fine tune the profiles with less, not more definition.  I cannot

speak for the mass, but the only way for this situation to improve is for the

contract to be terminated.
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