My two cents on this issue, which has been thoroughly discussed: 1. We (The Friends of MPL) are obligated to sell ex-library books rather than give them away. However, if you are associated with a non-profit organization that thinks you could use the books that we are unable to sell through our normal means, please get in touch. We can set up a deal where we are getting these books to you at a very nominal price, simply enough to make it legal. The reality, however, is that most of the books we can't sell (for as little at 25 cents) are in pretty poor condition.
2. The core problem is not that the library throws books away. Every library -- public, school, university, etc. -- does it. The alternative is to either stop buying new books or to build every larger libraries to house every larger, but often outdated, irrelevant and sometimes inaccurate collections. 3. The real issue is how you deal with books as they are discarded. Managing that process responsibility takes staff time, which is exactly what MPL is lacking. Is it any surprise that this "scandal" arose after MPL laid of 25% of its staff? It is easy to be outraged about what happened, but if we are serious about solving it in the long-term we need to provide more staffing for our libraries. Colin Hamilton Executive Director The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library [EMAIL PROTECTED] 612/630-6172 REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
