ACQNET v7n031 (August 23, 1997) URL = http://www.infomotions.com/serials/acqnet/acqnet-v7n031 ISSN: 1057-5308 *************** ACQNET, Vol. 7, No. 31, August 23, 1997 ======================================= (1) FROM: C. Willett SUBJECT: Questions for ALCTS Members - An Open Letter (136 lines) (2) FROM: A. Bloss SUBJECT: Questions for ALCTS Members - A response (133 lines) (3) FROM: C. Chamberlain SUBJECT: RE: Hawaii Outsourcing - Letter (76 lines) (1)--------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 14:55:40 -0400 From: Charles Willett (Crises Press) Subject: Questions for ALCTS Members: An Open Letter. Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 12:29:29 -0400 To: ALCTS Carol Chamberlain (Northeastern Univ.) [and all the other ALA Divisions plus several other listserves] Subject: Questions for ALCTS Members: An Open Letter. Cc: SRRT Wendy Thomas , CPOISE EDITORS 1997 QUESTIONS FOR ALCTS MEMBERS: AN OPEN LETTER by Charles Willett, coordinator, Alternatives in Print Task Force (AIP), Social Responsibilities Round Table, ALA Responding to ALCTS President Carol Chamberlain's June 6th statement to ALA division presidents and ALA Council about outsourcing, I would like to ask a few questions, speaking as a long-time ALCTS member and as an advocate of acquiring and accessing alternative materials for libraries. The statement opens: ALCTS, the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, is the ALA division most closely involved with outsourcing issues and vendor relations. ALCTS provides leadership to ALA and the library community in these and other areas including the acquisition, selection, description, organization and preservation of information resources. If ALCTS provides this leadership, why didn't it help the Hawaii librarians who courageously opposed the total outsourcing contract that was wrecking the Hawaii State Public Library System? Why didn't ALCTS join forces with AIP's Hawaii Working Group in trying to cancel the contract for the 49-library, statewide system and reestablish its technical services departments, which the HSPLS administration had shut down? Where was ALCTS while the Hawaii state legislature heard testimony from hundreds of irate librarians and library users? Where was ALCTS as Senate Bill 538 worked its way through committees and House conferences, was signed by Governor Cayetano on June 19th as Hawaii Act AB 252, and became effective July 1st? How does ALCTS regard this landmark legislation, which for the first time in U.S. history codifies one of librarianship's core professional functions--materials selection--into law? Hawaii Revised Statutes. Chapter 312 (b): Upon termination of any outsourcing contract in effect on the effective date of the Act, decisions regarding the selection of books and other resources on behalf of the state library system that require the expenditure of public monies shall be performed internally by the public service librarians of the state library system. Continuing on, the statement asserts that the two outsourcing forums ALCTS held at the 1997 ALA Midwinter Meeting were "very successful." By what standard? At the outsourcing program presented by the Technical Services in Public Libraries Discussion Group on "Outsourcing Technical Services: The Selection Process," was any opposing point of view invited? At the outsourcing program presented by the ALCTS Publisher/Vendor Library Relations Committee, was a single critical question asked of Baker & Taylor's Vice President Arnie Wight or any other of the dozen senior corporate executives on the panel? [Ed. note: Yes- I asked a critical question and it was answered!] Weren't these "very successful" meetings just love feasts among ALCTS managers and their commercial "partners" (as the librarian who moderated the PVLRC meeting repeatedly called the vendors)? Has any outsourcing critic or any representative of a regional, small or alternative press ever been invited to speak at any outsourcing meeting or preconference that ALCTS, its state and regional affiliates, and their corporate suppliers have been co-sponsoring all over the country for the past several years? The ALCTS statement goes on to promote its new book, _Outsourcing Library Technical Services Operations_ (ALA, 1997). How does this book view the Hawaii outsourcing model, which for the first time in U.S. library history totally transferred the local, core professional responsibilities of budget allocation, selection and cataloging to a private vendor? Does the book approve or disapprove of the 5 1/2 year, $11.2 million contract signed by the Hawaii state librarian and Baker & Taylor in March 1996? Or does it simply ignore the personal, political and constitutional implications of privatizing the public library collections of one of America's 50 states? Finally, I would like to ask, respectfully, if ALCTS members are doing enough to help their own libraries acquire and provide local cataloging access to "all points of view" under the Library Bill of Rights, in conformity with the ALA Policy Manual's Mission Statement, Priority Area A, Goal 4? "Library collections are developed, managed and preserved to provide access for users to the full range of available knowledge and information." In the serials area, do their libraries hold the _Alternative Press Index_, 1969- (www.igc.apc.org/altpress/) and _Annotations_, the directory of the 250 journals indexed in it (Alternative Press Centre, 1996)? For monographs, have they acquired _Alternative Publishers of Books in North America_, 3rd edition, the biennial directory produced by AIP (CRISES Press, 1997)? Have they ordered _Counterpoise_ 1997- (www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/counterpoise.html), the critically acclaimed, ALA-sponsored review journal edited by 20 librarians and subject specialists and published by AIP? How about titles authored, edited or published by individual AIP members: Sanford Berman's and James P. Danky's _Alternative Library Literature_, 1983/84- (biennial, McFarland); Chris Dodge's and Jan DeSirey's _MSRRT Newsletter_, 1988- (bimonthly); my _Librarians at Liberty_, 1993- (CRISES Press, semiannual); _Alternative Literature: A Practical Guide for Librarians_ by Chris Atton, 202 pages (Gower, UK and USA, 1996); and the forthcoming _Libraries Betrayed: The Hawaii Outsourcing Disaster_, 2 volumes, edited by Patricia Wallace and Earl Lee, a compendium of documents and commentary (CRISES Press; vol. 1, ca. 220 pages, October 1997; vol 2: 1998)? Are libraries of ALCTS members well stocked with materials that alternative bibliographic tools recommend? Do their catalogers attach additional subject headings and descriptive information to minimal LC records in order to guide users to information of local interest that otherwise would not be found? It is high time that these questions are asked -- and answered. The subtle censorship that bars access to alternative points of view in almost every school, college, university and public library in the United States is a professional disgrace. All librarians can help overcome this pervasive bias. They are welcome to stop by the AIP booth at any ALA conference, to consult the websites given here, and to write or send an e-mail message to the address below. My colleagues and I look forward to introducing them to the great wealth of significant publications available beyond corporate America's mainstream. Charles Willett Coordinator, Alternatives in Print Task Force (AIP), ALA/SRRT 1716 SW Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32608-4049 Tel: 352 / 335-2200 E-mail: willett@afn.org CC: ALA division presidents ALA Council certain round tables and affiliates LM_NET, PUBYAC, PUBLIB, ACQNETL, COLLDV-L, ALSC-L, PLGNET George Eberhart, _American Libraries_ Norman Oder, _Library Journal_ (2)---------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 08:25:05 -0500 (CDT) From: Alex Bloss (Univ. of Ill.-Chicago) Subject: Questions for ALCTS members - a Response It is not clear what the purpose of Charles Willett's "Questions for ALCTS Members" is that was recently posted by Councilor Freedman, other than to promote Charles Willett's publications. I fail to see what the promotion of alternative publications has either to do with the Hawaii outsourcing issue or with ALCTS members. Surely even libraries that do not have ALCTS members (many of whom are not managers, by the way, and are not responsible for selection policies regarding library materials) should select materials that reflect all points of view under the Library Bill of Rights. Mr. Willett's long string of rhetorical questions are not intended to enlighten, only to antagonize and inflame. His selection out of context of only parts of President Chamberlain's statement on ALCTS' roles regarding outsourcing of library technical services was done only to suit his own purposes. If he had followed the actions in Council and at the ALCTS Board of Directors meetings, as well as at Council Caucus and elsewhere, he would know the answers to his questions. Mr. Willett's long-time membership in ALCTS seems not to have helped him in his understanding of ALCTS' mission. ALCTS does take a professional approach to matters regarding outsourcing of library technical services. These include publications and continuing education in which the criteria for selection of vendors and the planning and implementation of contracts are stressed. The Publisher/Vendor Library Relations Committee also serves as a review and advisory committee on matters of publisher/vendor relationships. They approach issues not to take sides but to educate and to develop guidelines for acceptable performance. Mr. Willett seems to have forgotten this in his rhetoric. For those members of Council and others reading this message who may have not followed the actions taken by Council and ALCTS over the past year, I want to review briefly the actions that ALCTS has taken and the responsibility with which it approached the Hawaii situation. It must be said at the outset, and contrary to the emotional rhetoric, finger-pointing, and blame-placing by people disappointed in Council's actions, ALCTS and Council are not "enemies" of the Hawaiian librarians. I am sure we all applaud their victory, recognize the contract for what it was, and support their desire for only the best service to their clientele. What Council reacted to was a series of poorly conceived resolutions, inflamed by rhetoric that rapidly polarized the Council. A Resolution on Outsourcing in Hawai'i was presented at 1997 Midwinter by Michael Golrick, the Connecticut Chapter Councilor and seconded by the Hawaii Chapter Councilor. The ALCTS Board (and a large majority of Council members) felt this resolution was not appropriate at that time because there was not enough information from both parties to make a reasoned decision, and because the issue appeared to be a contractual dispute between two parties in which ALA had no business. At no time before, during or after the midwinter meeting did anybody from the Hawaii Working Group, the Hawaiian Library Association, the Librarians Association of Hawaii, the Hawaii Chapter Councilor, or Councillor Golrick, who introduced the resolution, consult with ALCTS. The resolution was introduced at Council 2 but was not discussed due to the length of earlier business on the agenda. At Council 3, Alex Bloss, the ALCTS Councilor, did speak against the resolution for the reasons given above, representing the ALCTS position, but also stated that ALCTS was ready to work with anybody on issues regarding outsourcing. Other councilors also spoke against the resolution. One councilor suggested a motion to refer the matter to ALCTS for study and report back to Council. Council resoundingly defeated the resolution and did not take up the motion to refer. By summer, it was apparent that the outsourcing contract was a bad one, that there were failures on the part of both parties, and that the Hawaiian librarians had scored a victory in the Hawaiian legislature, which rescinded the contract. Another resolution was introduced by Councilor Golrick at ALA. By this time, the thrust of the resolution had changed considerably from one on Outsourcing in Hawai'i to a "Resolution on Outsourcing of Core Professional Activities." Again, nobody approached ALCTS on this issue for support or advice, and it was only after the resolution was submitted by Councilor Golrick that ALCTS became aware of it. The ALCTS Councilor, Alex Bloss, learned of the new resolution at the first Council Caucus, after Council I but before the resolution was introduced in Council. There were many flaws in the wording of this resolution that ALCTS (and other Councilors) noted. Most had to do with the fact that passage of this resolution would establish "core professional values" and "fundamental principles." The resolution stated that it was a "fundamental principle of the library profession to select materials to individual library communities so that the local library user receives the best and most appropriate service." The resolution also "resolved that the Council of the ALA endorses the statement that the core values of the library profession include local control of the selection of materials." It also referred to the outsourcing of "collection development" when it was the selection of materials that was outsourced. (Collection development includes other activities, such as developing collection policies, maintaining the collection, and weeding of materials no longer needed in the collection.) Other Councilors questioned the need for a motion referring to the Hawaii experience, since the Hawaiian librarians had obviously "won." Imprecise wording and poor grammar aside, this resolution put Council in the position of making major policy statements during a highly-charged, emotional, and severely time-constrained period. ALA has never identified "core professional values" and "fundamental principles." It was a bad precedent to start to establish core values in this fashion. Perhaps it would be a good thing for ALA to identify what librarianship's core values and fundamental principles are, but a resolution pertaining to the "Hawaii model" of outsourcing was not the place to start. The Council Caucus in which the new resolution was discussed ended around 11 p.m. Councilor Bloss talked with Councilor Golrick the next day in an attempt to reword the resolution so Bloss could bring it to the ALCTS Board that afternoon. Time was against us in this effort, and what came to ALCTS was only slightly better than the original resolution. The ALCTS Board was not able to support either the amended resolution nor the original resolution because of the flaws noted above. Councilor Golrick, apparently reading the mood of Council regarding his resolution, withdrew it to applause at Council 2. At Council 3, however, Councilor Rosenzweig reintroduced a similar resolution, with the same flaws, to the apparent surprise of many of the supporters of previous Hawaii resolutions. Since this was new business, it was placed properly under parliamentary procedure at the end of the agenda (not moved there as _American Libraries_ erroneously reported). After three sessions full of heated and rancorous discussion on a great many topics, and feeling the time pressure as its third meeting went over an hour past its scheduled adjournment, Council lost quorum and adjourned. Since the end of the Annual Conference, Council has debated this issue in ever more rancorous fashion. I have been following this debate and will be drafting a resolution for Midwinter 1998 that can be accepted by the ALCTS Board and hopefully by Council. Alex Bloss ALCTS Councilor (3)--------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 13:49:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Carol Chamberlain (Northeastern U.) Subject: RE: Hawaii Outsourcing - Letter I would like to offer a clarification concerning the recent posting from Charles Willett. In his message he includes quotes from a letter I wrote. I include here a copy of that letter for ACQNET readers. The letter was written last June 6 with the purpose of informing other ALA divisions and members of ALA Council of ALCTS' roles regarding outsourcing. From a reading of the full letter, I hope that readers can gain a complete and balanced perspective. Carol Chamberlain Past-President, ALCTS ================================================================= June 6, 1997 To ALA Division Presidents: ALCTS, the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, is the ALA division most closely involved with outsourcing issues and vendor relations. ALCTS provides leadership to ALA and the library community in these and other areas including the acquisition, selection, description, organization, and preservation of information resources. My purpose in writing to you is to both clarify and to contribute to a greater understanding of ALCTS' roles regarding outsourcing and recent developments. Through programs, discussion forums and publications, ALCTS fulfills an important educational role. As the recent developments in Hawaii became known, ALCTS moved quickly to initiate two very successful forums on outsourcing at the ALA Midwinter conference. These latest efforts build on our other initiatives. In 1996 the Commercial Technical Services Committee held a conference program on current outsourcing projects, and the Acquisitions Section conducted a highly successful preconference on outsourcing technical services functions. The other ALCTS sections (Collection Management and Development, Cataloging and Classification, Serials, and Preservation and Reformatting) develop discussion groups, conference programs and regional institutes which continue to address contract services. ALCTS has several publications on outsourcing, including _Outsourcing Library Technical Services Operations_, published in 1997. Another important role for ALCTS is to develop and promote constructive relationships among librarians, vendors, publishers and other producers of information resources. The ALCTS Publisher/Vendor Library Relations Committee plays this role, serving as an review and advisory committee. Their work is highly regarded in the association, particularly for the effective resolution of complaints, for the development of fair and balanced guidelines, and for the mutual respect they engender in the conduct of their work. Outsourcing and other contract services for libraries are and have been an integral part of librarianship for many years. Cooperative cataloging, retrospective conversion, approval plans, binding and preservation are leading examples. Today new models of contract services can be as successful, with effective planning and implementation strategies, and with open channels of communication among all participants. ALCTS is committed to meeting the needs of its members, including those needs related to the outsourcing of collections and technical services. Our members are librarians, vendors, publishers and other individuals who are not only working in libraries, but also are working in the publishing and supplier communities. We recognize and celebrate this diversity of membership. Through ALCTS, ALA achieves its goal of assisting librarians in providing services responsive to the changing needs of society. Sincerely, Carol Chamberlain ALCTS President cc: ALCTS Board of Directors ****** END OF FILE ****** ACQNET, Vol.7, No.31 ****** END OF FILE ******