Note added 5/5: AL Direct gets it right.
I appreciate that
LJ has chosen to cover the story of Norma Blake's unilateral decision to defund QandANJ, and her more recent decision --in response to a great outcry -- to temporarily extend funding. However, I think the LJ article largely fails to convey the level of anger and protest going on in our state library community. Yes, many are angry about the possibility of losing QandANJ. But more importantly, we are angry about the way the decision was made; without input, consultation, or sound basis. The article reports Norma Blake's position and highly disputed "facts" at length, but without balancing them very well with opposing opinions or fact-checking.
I encourage everyone to look at the
original reasons given for cutting QandANJ in the
April 4th notice (which LJ doesn't reference) and note that over the next month the reasons shift until finally settling on a false forced choice between funding QandANJ or funding a pair of beloved databases (For more analysis, see:
http://blog.peterbromberg.com/2011/04/qandanj-fact-sheets-and-forced-choices.html).
To be clear, the “new plan” that Norma unveiled is one that I proposed days earlier
here and
here. I'm happy that she sees sees value in the proposal, and I'm happy that she put it forth. It's good for NJ libraries and it's good for the tens of thousands of library customers who use QandANJ. But it's not unimportant to the story to note that her decision to announce this plan 24 days after she unilaterally decided to end QandANJ was made in a climate of great pressure; pressure from QandANJ customers, librarians, and probably more than a few state legislators who have been contacted. Am I pleased she is extending some extra funding for QandANJ and permitting the library community in NJ a little time to work together to find a constructive solution and possibly save the service? Absolutely. Do I think it was a choice made willingly or happily? Notsomuch. But for those of us who are trying to at least have an open, fact-based discussion about the merits of saving the service, a win is a win.
NO MENTION OF NJLA STATEMENT REBUKING STATE LIBRARY
Perhaps the most egregious omission in this article is the failure to mention NJLA's "
Statement on NJ State Library/QandANJ". It is my understanding that the NJLA Executive Board and Executive Director Pat Tumulty actually invoked emergency procedures to issue this reprimand a day before our annual conference.
It's hard to understate just how serious and unprecedented this kind of rebuke is, and I commend the NJLA Executive Board and Director for their leadership and courage in issuing their statement. It would have been easy to hold the release of the statement until after the NJLA conference, so the timing of the statement's publication-- the day before our statewide conference -- says as much about the seriousness of the offense as the words themselves.
As I have stated to Norma Blake on numerous occasions, I am happy to work with her in every way to help libraries and improve library services for the people of NJ. That is our common ground as librarians and as colleagues. But we still have a long, long, long way to go in many areas. There is a poisonous culture of fear and intimidation in the state right now. So many people are afraid to make critical comments or question State Library decisions for fear of losing their jobs or becoming unemployable. Many people told me that it has become easier to speak up this week in light of the NJLA rebuke, but many more are telling me their opinions and stories and asking not be quoted--even if their story is highly anonymized. The climate is that bad.
I understand that few want to risk their job or career, and they perceive that such is the risk of speaking freely. This, in a profession that prides itself on intellectual freedom and the value of open discourse. Frankly, I'm sick about it, not that I blame anyone for wanting to put food on the table and make their next mortgage payment.
It's going to take some real change to fix the problems in the NJ Library community. We made progress this week and I'm optimistic. But I'm not naive. The devil of this new plan to extend funding for QandANJ will be in the details. Will LibraryLinkNJ actually agree to a contract extension? (No, Norma didn't run the contract extension plan by the contractee first-- part of the pattern of not acknowledging partners or seeking input when appropriate.) Who will be the key players in assessing QandANJ and recommending whether it should continue? Will the State Library ever share usable budget numbers that will allow those in the NJ Library community to grasp what money we have and where it's being spent so we can make informed recommendation about how to prioritize?
There will be common ground ahead. But until people feel like they can openly criticize State Library decisions without suffering consequence to their livelihood, and until the State Library opens its books, shares its budget with its constituents, and generally becomes a whole lot more transparent and collaborative, there's going to be a whole lot of work to do.
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