[Libs-Or] Fwd: [alacoun] President Roberta Stevens' response to the New York Times story on outsourcing

[Diedre Conkling]

I thought you might be interested in the ALA response to the NY Times story,
*http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/27libraries.html?emc=eta1*<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/27libraries.html?emc=eta1>


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Keith Michael Fiels <kfiels at ala.org>
Date: Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 7:39 AM
Subject: [alacoun] President Roberta Stevens' response to the New York Times
story on outsourcing
To: alacoun at ala.org


 *Here is the letter from ALA President Roberta Stevens to the New York
Times in response to comments made by Mr. Pezzanite in  a recent article on
outsourcing library services in Santa Clara, California:*





Dear Editor,

The American Library Association opposes shifting policy making and
management oversight of library services from the public to the private
sector, not because of its impact on job security, as implied in the article
entitled “Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries,” but rather
because communities may lose access to trained information professionals –
librarians.

I take issue with the statements made by L.S.S.I. CEO Frank Pezzanite.
Implying that library staffs are just waiting around to cash in on
retirement, when in fact there are thousands of librarians serving 1.5
billion visitors annually with dedication, assumes that people will fall for
the “demonization” of the public sector.

Libraries and their employees, who are often paid salaries far below the
demands placed on them and the education required for their positions, serve
as a lifeline for millions of Americans. From free access to books and
online resources to library business centers that help support
entrepreneurship and retraining, libraries with top-notch staff are needed
now more than ever in our increasingly competitive global economy.

Publicly funded libraries should remain directly accountable to the publics
they serve.

Roberta Stevens
President, American Library Association



-------------------------------------



LSSI is being discussed on the ALA Council list, because of the piece
below.  You can see that discussion at
http://lists.ala.org/sympa/arc/alacoun .  The discussion can be viewed by
anyone.  You do not have to login.  You do have to click a button that says
something like "I am not a spammer."



You can also follow the discussion on PUBLIB in the September 2010 archives
at http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/ .










-- 

*-- *

*Diedre Conkling
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR  97365
Phone & Fax:  541-265-3066
**Work email:  **diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*  NEW**
Home email:  **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>
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