Dorie Rae Gallagher wrote:
Oh but..but ...how do you determine what people want to read or collect? Is there an insider's list? And who will manage that effort? Perhaps staff...I certainly know people who have extended themselves, without pay, so libraries can be open, have new books, and keep staff employed. Give the books away...it is a simple effort without casting judgement on what level another might be. Yes, it might be time I read Pagemaker for Dummies 1.0 1982.
I also know many people who have extended themselves within and without the many excellent library systems to do more than is asked of them, because they care for books and for library access.
My point is that we must pick our individual missions--I Will Keep Libraries Open and Accessible," or "I Will Buy Books for Children's Hospitals," or "I Will Ship Medical Books Overseas." The trick is to always know and believe that the person pursuing their mission is as holy as you are in yours.
So, if you believe all books should be found a home, are you prepared to take this on on behalf of the Minneapolis Public Library? Clearly your answer must be yes, because a first-rate explanation of how the MPL manages its surplus/dated/unwanted text stock was given to all of us a few days ago and it did not include finding a home for every unwanted title. Therefore the task is now yours, if you believe this to be true.
As a trained archivist and publications development manager, I followed his reasoning and it agreed with my own conclusions. I even understood why a dumpster was the final resting spot, and not a recyling center: the handwork that would be needed to cut the board and gloss spines from the books would be prohibitivelly expensive.
Dorie Rae has a different take on the matter, clearly, but it is not coming from a higher moral plane than mine...its just different.
If you approach your library system of choice with accusations, you will get justifications.
If you approach your library system with kind understanding and offers of assistance to make the changes you hope for, you will surely get a kind response. It may not be the response you want, however and, as there no villains here, you must accept the answer and turn your energies to other arenas in which you can do good, or agitate for across-the-board change.
The library administrations are not the enemy. You will need their partnership to make change. So deal with them--humans all--as thoughtfully as you would wish to be dealt with. They love books, too, just as much as you.
Deborah Morse-Kahn, Minneapolis
Dorie Rae Gallagher Nokomis
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Deborah Morse-Kahn, M.A., Director Regional Research Associates Minneapolis, Minnesota (612) 925-0749 www.regionalresearch.net
"We turn not older with years, but newer every day."
(Emily Dickinson) "Noli umquam comitatem mollitie confundere."
(Never mistake pleasantness for weakness.) "I can live for two months on a good compliment."
(Mark Twain) "It is clear the future holds opportunities...it also
holds pitfalls. The trick will be to seize the
opportunities, avoid the pitfalls, and get home by 6:00."
(Woody Allen)
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