This discussion about library budget cuts has come up many times before. If we want to solve this problem we need to have a more global outlook and not propose band aid solutions. Library use in a school is curriculum driven. In the best case scenario the library is a resource by which students can do their research. Today people use the internet as their place of first resort and rarely if ever use the library as a last resort. I find it hard to believe that students in a Jewish institution have all the resources they need for effective work at home. Furthermore do students know how to effectively use resources such as Talmud, Mishnah, and the like? In 2002 I gave a CEU on the use of primary rabbinic sources. The librarians in attendance told me that in their respective schools students are given assignments to locate primary sources yet the students do not know how to do so and ask the librarians. The librarian is the guide in this respect. What about term papers? If all resources are from the internet what does that say about the quality of work and the learning experience? The major player in funding and understanding the use of the library is the chief academic officer. It could be the principal, dean, or general administrator Do these people know or understand what the library means in the childrens education? Libraries in the 21st century have the same function they have always had. The one difference is that the computer changes the way those services run. Our organization has many sessions at the convention that address culture and very rarely are there sessions on issues that affect libraries in a budget constrained world. The librarians need to develop a strategy that will bring administrators on the same page as they are. Approaching people who fund organizations is sometime fruitless unless the chief administrator joins together with the librarian to make the case. I have always had to deal with extremely tight budgets and yet it has not affected the quality of service. In my opinion the principal or dean is the first place to go to make the case. When we make the case it has to show fiscal responsibility while providing important services. If when then prove we can do it then we take the next step. Let's create a strategy that will work and not just cry about the problem. If we don't do that then we are part of the problem.
Eliezer M. Wise Library Director Tuttleman Library of Gratz College Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
