Is the local public library priceless?

From http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6616470.html?industryid=47090
Article: San Diego Mayor Wants To Proceed with Library Closings; Budget Analyst Urges Review
Public libraries usually require tax money to run. As we learned earlier, there is no public service as utilized in comparison to the (tax payers) cost. The library is especially invaluable during tough economic times. It is a treasure trove to unemployed patrons by providing books on job searching, resume writing and internet access. Families can access books that they may not otherwise be able to afford. Reading greatly improves a child’s ability to do better in school. Ultimately it is a vital public service.
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has proposed the closing of seven of the 35 branches in the city. Originally the plan was for the seven libraries to be closed temporarily and open again in 2010. It was then pushed back to 2014 and now perhaps they could stay closed permanently. Nothing has been officially decided.
Already 31 of the branches are open only 41 hours a week. Library Director Deborah Barrow explains that the changing and limited services has confused and frustrated the public. Barrow feels closing some of the branches will improve service at the remaining libraries. Already library employees have had their hours cut back and turnover is high adding to the costs.
Even Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who earned Library Journal’s Politicians of the Year award in 2005 for his innovated ways to keep libraries open, has had to reconsider closing some libraries in 2008. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6620248.html
What do these closings mean for the public? San Diego Director Deborah Barrow has a valid point in wanting to provide the highest level of service even if it means closing some libraries. How will this affect the areas around the closed libraries? It seems certain that many patrons in the affected areas will simply not use the library anymore due to lack of access. Transportation alone could be a hindrance.
What are the answers? All avenues must be explored to avoid losing libraries. It is a highly charged political arena and some skill in this area would beneficial. The very last place governments should cut costs is at the local public library. As future librarians we must hone our skills in grant writing, federal funding applications such as the e-rate and volunteer recruiting. Not all of us will be going into the public librarian realm. These skills as well as our ability to stay on the cutting edge of technology will prove libraries and librarians as the priceless community services they are well into the future.

Fostering curiosity to weather the storm

Our group conversation last week about library futures and Michigan futures was very enlightening for me. I’m a believer in local politics—I think all politics are at base, local. That’s where we can get a handle on an issue and be an active part in making the world more livable. The economic situation we are in obviously is global in scope, but I think libraries are poised to be a crucial part of local strategies to weather the crises.

In this week’s reading, we read about the “disconnected,” or the millions of 18-24 year olds who are not in school and not employed. Low literacy rates are part of the problem, just as they are in Michigan generally and the Detroit Metro area more specifically. This article from the New York Times highlights the struggles of Michiganders, who have already been experiencing a state-wide recession for some 5 years. Michigan ranks 35th in college graduates despite having a renowned state university and several more rock solid state schools (like WSU). Low rates of “basic skills” like literacy, and fewer college graduates means that Michigan as a whole doesn’t have the competitive workforce it will need to attract non-auto industries, like tech and motion picture production, which might otherwise seek a state like Michigan, which has a low cost of living and plenty to offer in terms of landscape and recreation.

This is where librarians and other information professionals come in. Certainly, a lot of the work of “promoting life-long learning” (as the ALA calls it) is a public library vocation. But instilling auto-didacticism—curiosity and interest in self-teaching—is the role of all of the folks working in the field. Sometimes it is just making sure people find what they want (or something they really are satisfied with, even if it wasn’t exactly what they asked for) with minimal effort is the first step in building a relationship. A hassle-free first encounter will bring patrons, readers, users, or clients—whatever the agency calls its constituents—back again. It waters the seed of interest, of curiosity. That’s the foundation of self-education that will help adults re-tool for life in the recession, and life after the recession. I think this is true for any kind of library, from a school library, to a public library, to an archive, to a law library, to a corporate library: knowledge is the hook, and if they can get it easy until they are comfortable with the workings of the library, they will soon be willing to dig deeper to find more of what they want and need.

That persistence is what it may take for people to weather whatever’s to come. Libraries will have to operate with smaller budgets and with higher use and circulation rates. I think it will be challenging. I also think it will be a rewarding time to work at one of the few places in our culture where you can get something extremely valuable for free (and I don’t mean books for unscrupulous constituents to abscond with). Libraries can renew their role as part of a very American (though probably not uniquely American) tradition of self-education. Perhaps I’m just dwelling on the silver lining from my sheltered cinderblock [definitely not ivory] tower. I’m gainfully employed (knock wood), so I don’t mean to downplay the difficulty for folks who are unemployed and/or facing foreclosure. But I do mean to play up the important—and therefore exciting—role of librarians and other information specialists in helping people help themselves right now when we really need it.

(That’s all, but BTW, the Detroit News published the 2009 tax foreclosure list today, and it was 137 full newspaper pages of small print, listing all of the properties in Wayne County whose owners are behind on their property taxes. I have no idea what it might normally look like, but it is an impressive stack of paper.)

Going Green, And Then Some

We should congratulate ourselves fellow librarians, the first public library in Michigan has finally been given the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification. Hastings Public Library was awarded the certification from the “U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED program” on October 25th.

Throughout this class we have discussed many aspects of being a librarian and the ethics that come with our profession. Our main concern has always been, and always be, about our patrons and the community good. In the new age of “Going Green” and becoming environmentally friendly, isn’t it about time librarians stepped it up a notch? We’re already part way there, recycling a few hundred books to a few thousand patrons. This alone saves on cutting down trees to create paper and saving on the use of oil in trucks transporting goods. This is because we know that the products we give out will (hopefully) come back, thus cutting down on the need to purchase new items. Unfortunately, this is not enough. What earned Hastings Public Library the gold certification was the way they transformed not just the building, but the way they think.

As stated in the article covering the library, “The six major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design. A gold certification recognizes a superior level of energy and environmental performance”. Hastings Public Library used many recyclables for chairs, desks, and even carpeting as well as changing to “roof gardens and [a] rain garden that process water runoff from the building and parking lot to return cleaner water to the water table”. The librarians also vowed to continually inform their patrons about becoming environmentally friendly and even declared October “Sustainability Month”.

As librarians, it is our duty to offer the best services to our patrons. So I challenge you fellow future librarians, why not go a step further and offer nothing but the best to our Earth? We are the Next Gen librarians and it’s about time we live up to that.

Reality Attacks: Does It Ever Rain in Second Life?

For some companies and organizations the choice seems pretty clear, a real no-brainer to become a “landowner” in the virtual world of Second Life. “The possibilities are endless!” is a common generalization used to describe what Second Life can provide companies and agencies.

Individuals are encouraged to join Second Life (owned by Linden Labs) with the seemingly harmless and common phrase “Hey, the account is free” which usually comes in tandem with the backside comment, “You know … you can fly around”. These selling points just must be a dream. How could it be possible? Why not? Free? Fly? Be anyone I want? Visit any place through teleportation? Wholly cow! Let’s GO!

It’s obvious Second Life almost sells itself.

There are some real positives to a virtual world such as Second Life. Architects can take tour and tweak their creations using a 3 dimensional view. Designers can test creations without spending large amounts money on real world mock-ups. Employees from global companies can hold meetings and exchange information/ideas/projects without logistical costs. Universities and Colleges have the ability to offer classes or disseminate resources, information and hold lectures with students who are located throughout the world. Libraries can offer services to virtual patrons as a means to expand services with very little cost.

One of the very real “endless possibilities” is that Second Life is not really equipped with the type of development tools that would allow highly detailed and advanced development of projects, inventions or ideas. Further, Second Life is really a fake life; a “world” that only exists on computer hardware/software and does not contain even the simplest “real world” processes and components such as plate tectonics and real weather. Most importantly, users (sometimes called SLer’s) can and do become addicted to this fake life that produces very real world issues.

Marriages and personal relationships are one of the first areas to be impacted by addicted virtual world users. Addicted virtual world users (AVWU) spend so much time in the virtual world that they commonly neglect real world responsibilities, lose their jobs, and strain relationships. Like most addicts, AVWU commonly cite that “It’s just fun”, "I'm not harming anyone" or (my favorite) “Don't worry, it’s not really real”. Sadly, these excuses do not provide any level of support for their claims, nor motivate friends and family to join in “the fun". Quickly, the user commonly alienates themselves as a means to maximize their time in the fake world.

So what does this all have to do with the information field? Plenty. Information professionals must evaluate all resources in order to provide proficient services to patrons. However, as illustrated by Dr. Calvert in class this past week, reference librarians in Second Life primarily answer questions about … Second Life. How is that providing good patron services for the real world?

Further, Linden Labs periodically shuts down, sometimes without notice, for maintenance -- what happens if this happens when an information professional was in the middle of handling an important patron issue? Also, while Second Life offers a free account for users, these accounts are limited and "inspire" the user to invest real world money in order to "kit out" their avatar.

Most importantly, can information professionals (and the agencies they work for) be held liable for introducing new users (or facilitating in the knowledge exchange in the virtual world) to the virtual world, if that user becomes addicted?

It is very obvious that Second Life is not really free. There are emotional costs, financial costs, temporal costs, physical costs and legal costs. Clearly, Second Life is not completely composed of virtugeeks who have no lives and have completely dropped out of the real world. However, claiming Second Life is "free" and harmless is simply misleading and untrue. In fact, Second Life could prove to be more of a liability than a benefit for the Information Profession. If information professionals are not careful, they may find themselves categorized as a 21st century drug dealer.

Outsourcing: The Good with the Bad

We have read in our course work over this week and the last about outsourcing and the damage that it can do to libraries. Collections development and management suffer when jobs that are usually done by library employees, who are knowledgeable of the public that they serve, are given to companies that just buy bestsellers to add to the library shelves. Contract companies that are hired for collections development are usually distant and uninvolved in the community that they are serving. This distance affects the quality of the materials they provide and the satisfaction of the patrons.

Another concern for us, being future professionals in the library field, is what outsourcing means for our jobs. Will the jobs that we do have be taken away or will it be harder to find jobs that provide reasonable pay and benefits considering contract workers will work for less.

These are all legitimate concerns centered around outsourcing and in this article, from Library Journal, the issue is brought up in conjunction with libraries in Josephine County Oregon. The article talks about four libraries in Josephine County that were closed down last year on account of not having enough funding. The money for the libraries decreased when there was a drop in federal timber payments, which caused many counties that relied on that money to make cut backs. Naturally the libraries were some of the first things to go in this situation. Over a year later however, the libraries are being reopened under the management of a private nonprofit group called the Josephine County Libraries, the JCLI. The article mentions that raising funds for their reopening in addition to trying to sell the community on the new outsourced “NPR model” was difficult. One reason for this could be because of the bad connotations that usually accompany the term ‘outsourcing’.

No matter what the reason is though, these four county libraries will be reopened because of this new management and administration that is stepping in. If the county had to wait until it had sufficient government funding to reopen these libraries who knows how long it would have taken. These county libraries are already competing for dwindling funds with public safety and human services, so who knows if they would have ever been able to be reopened at all. A library in the surrounding Jackson County had to close down last year only to reopen a few months later under the management of a private contract company, much like the libraries in Josephine County will be doing. Even amongst the damage that outsourcing can do to collections development, and the uneasiness that it stirs up in the library job market isn’t it worth it in cases like these? Cases where turning things over to private management seems to be the only way that these libraries will be able to reopen. After last week conversation about how beneficial public libraries are to socialization of children, public education, creating lifetime learners, helping to further career and educational endeavors, and even being a way to pursue the American dream, it seems a shame to let them sit closed when there is something that could be done to open them. Outsourcing might not be the best of friends with libraries and librarians all the time but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty and there just isn’t the government money to keep them open isn’t it a handy plan B? Especially since the article states that if and when the County is ready to take over the libraries the JCLI would step aside and let that happen. 

Librarian Fined For Promoting His Daughter's Book

Grandt, a librarian at the Brooklyn Technical High School, was forced to pay a $500 fine and admit in a three page stipulation that he had violated the city ethics code when he promoted his daughter’s new book. His daughter, Eve Grandt, had provided illustrations for a graphic novel of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth published by Wiley Publishing.

In the following article Grandt claims he was merely a proud father who wanted to show off his daughter’s work. In the bi-monthly library newsletter he is responsible for circulating Grandt wrote: “Best New Book: Grandt, Eve, Shakespeare’s Macbeth-The Manga Edition” written under the title “Grandt’s Picks.” He also used a library display table to exhibit several copies of the book with the sign “Best Book Ever Written,” gave away free copies of the book if people were interested, and donated a copy to the library. Grandt explained that he had donated many books in addition to his daughter’s and that he did not think that his actions crossed the line. He remarked “I am supposed to, as part of my job, display new books and encourage the kids to read new books…So here, I displayed my daughter’s book and encouraged the kids to read it and am told I had done something illegal.”

The Brooklyn Conflict of Interests Board sent Grandt a letter telling him he could lose his job and be stripped of his teaching license. They also wanted to impose a $1000 fine. Ultimately, Grandt negotiated the fine down to $500 and removed the books from the library display table; including the one he had donated.

The Board declined to comment on their reasoning for the case though Grandt claimed they alleged his daughter would get twenty cents in royalties per copy sold but he had given the copies away and it is unclear on how the conflicts board interpreted the ethics code in relation to Grandt’s case.

Did Robert Grandt’s actions really warrant the attention of the Conflict of Interests Board? Did they overstep a line themselves with such a harsh response? At what point does a father’s pride cross the line and become the pursuit of self interest? As future librarians and information specialists we have a responsibility to encourage people to read and to expose them to books both popular and obscure. Certainly Shakespeare’s Macbeth could not be exactly considered unnoticed and having it illustrated by a local artist might even be a source of pride for the community. So, we have a book, an accepted classic, illustrated by a talented local artist, donated to the library, even available for free if interested, but the problem lies with the librarian at the library happening to be a parent of the artist. This is a case of policy out of control.

Bad database information impacts many sources

Many people use databases in their line of work, be they librarians or law enforcement. However, what if these databases contain incorrect or false information?

In this recent article, a man was arrested after a warrant was found for him in an adjoining county. Meth and a gun were found in his car. However, there was no actual warrant and the information was never removed from the database. Nevertheless, he was indicted, unable to throw out the evidence, and sentenced to 27 months in jail. This is a violation of his fourth amendment right, which guards against unreasonable search and seizure.

False information can spread from source to source, like the one bad apple adage. “In these interlinked databases, one error can spread like a disease, infecting every system it touches and condemning the individual to whom this error refers to suffer substantial delay, harassment, and improper arrest,” EPIC director Marc Rotenberg states in a friend of the court brief. I’ve read many sources while researching that were incorrect—and they shared sources. Obviously, these sources aren’t reliable—but they were written for academic journals. If all of those sources are able to link and be regarded as professional, what kinds of bogus information could the government be sharing as accurate?

This information is not solely available to the government—though the Information Sharing Environment (ISE), data is shared between federal, state, local, tribal and commercial entities. The ISE seems to be mainly about preventing terrorism, which makes it all the more dangerous. If the shared information is erroneous, it affects the credibility of such investigations when conducted with authentic data, not to mention the wrongly affected citizen. It also affects the credibility of professionals who are required to cooperate with the authorities.

While some may think this problem exists mainly in the government sector, this is not the case. The Supreme Court reviewed whether arrests made using inaccurate information are lawful. If the Supreme Court decides it is legal, the ramifications are far-reaching. In an age where citizens are constantly under surveillance by the government, where will they draw the line? How will this affect the Patriot Act? Although libraries would still probably choose to require a court order, what if the court order is drawn up on false charges?

For more information, check out EPIC's Web page about the court case.

“Hybrid” or Professionals?

The changes that occurred in the library science profession during the last 2 decades didn’t affect the library resources and services only, but the library staff as well.

A new kind of employees appears at the Academic Libraries named “Hybrid professionals.” The Council of Library and Information Resources (CLR) defines those employees as “Ph.D. holders who bridge the gap between the library and academic department”. Those employees are coming from different backgrounds (business, philosophy, science, etc…). However, they do not have any library education or training. In some academic libraries they are called “Liaison” or “Subject Specialist”, and they play a coordination role between the library and academic departments in acquisitions and reference services.

Those professionals usually get higher salaries and they are considered faculty members who are supposed to publish. In fact, those professionals are not performing instructional duties, their duties are quite the same like traditional MLS holders but they work in a specialized environment. Why they should be differentiated from traditional librarians in term of salary and position?

In my opinion, the “Hybrid professionals” enrich the academic library environment; however a library degree should always be the first requirement for any library position together with other degrees that may be required to fit some special positions. For example, the “liaison” positions at Wayne State University Libraries are held by persons who hold an MLS degree and another Master. The library training provided by library programs cannot be acquired by experience, it is a way of thinking and continuation of the experience of previous professional librarians.

With no doubt, the interaction between traditional librarians and “Hybrid professionals” will result in strengthening the library in providing higher level of services. Yet, the traditional librarians are worried about the future of their career. What if a MLS degree will not be required anymore in the library profession? What is a library degree for if it is not required in the only field that it is used in?

Also, giving higher salaries and work benefits for employees who do not hold a MLS degree will keep students away from the library science programs and result in degradation in the number of professionals, and professional librarians will became an endangered species.


Link to original article:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6598103.html?q=professional+issues

Orphans Could Expand Library Collections

An Orphan Works bill recently passed in the Senate. You can read a related article here. This bill would allow orphan works, works whose author or creator cannot be identified for copyright permissions, to be used, even though they are still protected under copyright. Those who wish to use the orphan works must first attempt to locate the copyright owner for permission.

This seems to be a great way for libraries to be able to digitize orphan works so that they are available to more people. It also makes it easier to archive and restore works that are currently restricted by copyright and deteriorating, waiting for the copyright to expire because the original creator cannot be located or is unknown.

One section of the bill that I think needs some clarification is the caveat requiring users to make a reasonable effort to find the copyright owner. What constitutes a reasonable effort? Who decides when enough searching has been done? How is the search to be documented? Since the copyright owner is able to make a claim to the work at a later date, it is important to know exactly what the requirements of the search are. It is also important to iron out the meaning of “negotiating in good faith for a reasonable compensation,” which is done when copyright holders identify themselves.

As the article states, libraries and other non-profit users would not be required to compensate copyright holders for use of their works. This could be an important issue for libraries, however, if the bill is stalled in the House because of unanswered questions about compensation. Satisfactorily allaying fears and answering questions will be the key to getting the bill to pass through the House, as it did through the Senate.

The Orphan Works bill seems like a fair way to get orphan works back into the mainstream and allow copyright holders to receive compensation when they identify themselves. As long as the reasonable effort for searching for copyright holders is clearly defined and not abused, this bill seems to protect them as well.

For some information on the opposing viewpoint, see the end of this Library Journal article.

Happy Banned Book Week Sarah Palin

Happy Banned Book Week Sarah Palin!

As the librarian community gears up for another week of bringing attention to book censorship, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin might not be so excited. Reports that she attempted to remove homosexual themed literature from the public library in Wasilla, Alaska while she was mayor in 1996, have now gained national attention. Although Palin never banned any book, she reportedly asked the library director how she would feel about removing certain titles from the shelves, namely a book called “Pastor, I am Gay” by Howard Bess. When San Franciscan Mike Petrelis heard of the controversy, he sent two gay themed children’s books to the Wasilla public library. Petrelis felt that Palin’s question about removing titles was equal to the crime of censorship. The books Petrelis sent to the Wasilla library have been received, but still need to go through a process where the library board decides what to do with them, either they will be added to the collection or they will be sold.

When does censorship begin? Is it as Mike Petrelis and the ALA assert at the mere question of removal, or when the material in question is actually prevented from reaching its audience? As the books named by the ALA as “banned” have only been challenged, and are still on shelves, I think we need to recognize that the professional community at the very least, make this determination at the questioning of the material. However, this does not prevent the librarian profession from doing a little of their own censoring when it comes to maintaining a collection. As the donated books go through what sounds to me like a screening process, I wonder what type of criteria the books are going to be judged against. Is not this process itself censorship?

How can we as professionals fight censorship? Is sending copies of titles concerned with hot button issues around the country the best way? I applaud Mike Petrelis for taking a step against censorship, but I doubt the effectiveness of his actions. The books he sent to the Wasilla library may never make it to the shelves. There must be other ways to take a stand.

It is also important to make the distinction of who is asking the questions about removal, in Palin’s case she was the mayor, a position of power over the librarian not just an everyday patron. As a librarian, I might feel more intimidated or pressured to remove a book if I was asked by someone with the power to fire me than if I was asked by the average patron. Palin did not remove or ask the librarian to remove any titles, but she came close. As future information professionals we need to ask ourselves how close is too close.

A Scientist and the FBI Walk Into a Library. . .

Many often forget that during September of 2001, the nation saw multiple acts of terrorism: not only did the nation face the tragedy of 9/11, but "Amerithrax" also began in September. Many years later, the case is only now beginning to come to a close. It was only in July of this year that the FBI informed Dr. Bruce E. Ivins that they were going to press charges for the anthrax case and only in August of this year that they concluded Ivins was solely responsible for the attacks. One of the most recent actions taken by the FBI was the removal of two library computers from Federick County Public Libraries (FCPL), MD which were allegedly used by Ivins. Articles by Library Journal can be found here: MD PL Director Acceeds to FBI Computer Seizure & FBI Serves Warrant. The library released the computers voluntarily without requesting a warrant, yet the FBI later sought a warrant to search the computers. The FCPL has stated that patrons' records are in no way connected to these computers and that computers with such information require a warrant. However, the library has further stated that they had no confidentiality policy in place in regards to Internet use.

At what point can library materials used by patrons and information about patrons be released to the government? Well, first of all, the FCPL has quickly learned that a confidentiality policy needs to be placed. As for the release of the computers by Darrell Batson, the library director and the president elect of the Maryland Library Association (MLA), it was the appropriate action. Mr. Baston has received the support of the MLA's Intellectual Freedom Officer and the library released a statement saying:

FCPL provides public-access computers as a service to the community, and access is provided to anybody, regardless of whether they possess a library card.

This provision would allow the FBI to come in and use the computers. However, and more importantly, the library is funded by taxpayer money making the computer publicly held property. The FBI should have the jurisdiction to take the computers and use the information for their investigation. It is similar to the current close to home investigation of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; text messages are being released and used in criminal investigations because they were sent on taxpayer funded cell phones.

Mr. Batson should be supported for his actions as well as the MLA for acting appropriately.

Tit for tat? Or something more?

This week, Google launched its own web browser, "Chrome."

The launch of Google's browser, which will compete with Microsoft's leading Internet Explorer browser and Mozilla Firefox, set off alarms in the media that a new "browser war" is in the works:

The decision by Google to create its browser...reflects a persistent concern on the part of the internet company that Microsoft would find ways to use its dominance of the PC software to favour its own internet applications, or at least hamper those of rivals.

Microsoft last week released a version of IE that makes it easier for users to block information about their browsing habits, a move that could hamper Google's move into display advertising.

This story raises fundamental questions for information professionals. Here are just a few:

1.) What is the ideal situation in terms of how people access information on the web?

• If John or Jane Doe walks into a library, wanting to access the web, should they be presented with every available browser and make their choice? Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc., etc.

2.) Should people care if Microsoft blocks Google's ability to collect information about its users?

• "Well, Google is just trying to profit off of knowing the websites I visit, so hooray Microsoft!"
• "But...I have found some interesting stuff clicking on ads every now and again...and if Google can't target me anymore, what then?"

3.) Will thirst for profit eventually "Balkanize" the Internet?

• Microsoft rakes in billions of dollars with Microsoft Office. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
• Google wants a slice of that.
• Will we start going "back to the future," seeing "Best viewed with Internet Explorer" or "Google Chrome optimized" on every page? What implications does this have for information access?

4.) Does the "consumer" of information really benefit in the end?

• "Well, I have to use this browser with this website. But I have to use a different browser for a bunch of other sites. I'm confused!"
• While there is standardization in terms of what web browsers should be able to display (and most browsers are pretty decent), who's to say a vendor can't just intentionally lock out a competitor?
  

Let the discussion begin below!

- Greg