Save the Public Library books and card catalog (1994)

This is the original article I wrote protesting the discarding of thousands of valuable, important books from our Public Library.  It is still happening, and any moves in this direction are met with fanatical resistance by the City government machine and even the School district, which has also decimated school libraries.  Even UGF has done this to a considerable extent, and other local libraries in Museums, the Symphony, etc. are told to ignore me....
                        

          Save the Public Library books and card catalog
                         by Paul Stephens


     A campaign is now being organized to save the card catalog and restore the traditional
richness and variety of books which long characterized the Great Falls Public Library collections.  For reasons which are still not clear, the policy of the Library over the past five or six years has drifted away from its traditional mission of accumulating and providing access to all the important books which people want to read or refer to, but don't want or need to buy for themselves.  
     Lifelong learning, and explorations in literature and all areas of knowledge are very
important in a place like Great Falls, and our exceptional educational and cultural richness for an isolated town of our size is in large part due to our public library, which was founded by Paris Gibson and his wife, and for many years named Valaria in her honor.   
     Yet, in recent years, it seems to many of us that the mission, direction, and accessibility
of our Library has been significantly altered for the worse.  According to a letter from Bob
Doerk, Chairman of the Great Falls Public Library Board of Trustees, the current Director, Jim Heckel, "was hired with a primary focus on computerizing the library collection."  Meanwhile, with the end of funding for the Pathfinder Federation (which had its regional center here in Great Falls), Mr. Heckel claims that it has been deemed necessary to dispose of tens of thousands of books.  This has been accomplished more or less arbitrarily, and without consulting library users or other public organizations and libraries as to their needs and interests.  Many people in this community have been very concerned at seeing thousands of valuable, important books being donated to the American Association of University Women (AAUW) book sale each year (for
which the AAUW returns a donation of $1500), and then sold for $1.00, 50 cents, or a dollar a bag in the fall sales.  
     At one point, the Friends of the Library (the traditional volunteer library support group) wanted to do its own fundraising with these discarded books, and thus realize more benefits for the Library and have some say over which books should be retained.  The Friends of the Library is no longer active, and Mr. Heckel recently expressed the view that a Friends of the Library organization isn't needed if the Library is well-managed.  Apparently, he thinks the Library is being well-managed, but others would dispute that.
     Allen Clark, a retired teacher, participant in several book discussion groups, and a former President of the Friends of the Library, has been vocal in expressing his dismay at this turn of events, and should be contacted for more information, and to support his efforts to make the library more useful and accessible.  
     Paul Stephens' a teacher and cultural activist who grew up here in the 50's
and 60's, has long protested the Library's policies and hopes to organize a campaign to save the card catalog and preserve and expand the collection.  The traditional card catalog, which is an index of every book in the library, has not been updated for the past 5 years or so since the computer system was installed.  Therefore, thousands of new books are not listed in the card catalog, and many thousands more books which were unnecessarily discarded have not had their cards removed from it.   Several offers by volunteers or concerned organizations to update the catalog have been flatly rejected by the Library staff.  According to Mr. Doerk, "Resources are not being committed to update the card catalog system because that would be counter productive."  Yet, many of the most devoted library users are not comfortable using the computerized catalog, and valuable staff time must be devoted to helping non-computer-users find books.  
     Those whose complaints have not been answered or whose needs aren't being met by a
public institution often simply stay away from it, and there is evidence that this has happened for a number of Library users in Great Falls.  Many older users have also expressed complaints about no longer having access to books they have long known and read, used as references, or recommended to others.  Apparently, it was determined by Mr. Heckel and staff that the Library had too many books for a community of this size, and their response has been to deaccess or discard tens of thousands of books on the grounds that they are "dated", "didn't circulate", or "have other titles on this subject."  
     The intrinsic value of any particular book is apparently not an issue, and is not being
taken into consideration by the Library staff.  Although they claim that every book discarded was either damaged or dicarded for some other valid reason, no effort is being made to repair them or answer the objections of those of us who want a bigger, more accessible, more "user friendly" library rather than a smaller, computerized, "modern", "professionalized" one.   
     Most of these complaints have been "answered" by the claim that any book in print can
be special-ordered in a few days through Interlibrary Loan.  But there is a cost (presently to local and state taxpayers) of $15 per transaction, yet the books are not here for immediate reference or to be browsed through by someone interested in a particular author or subject.  The cost is certainly a deterrent to doing this very often, and some users have already had limits placed on their accessing books in this way.  A user charge will probably have to be imposed at some point. 
Yet, library officials insist they are saving money by disposing of books rather than by maintaining the collection of books which are already paid for and known to be worthwhile.  
     If you are concerned about the size and accessibility of our Library collection, please
make your views known to Mr. Doerk, Mr. Heckel, and local city and county officials.  Vicky Everson and School Superintendent Larry Williams are also members of the Library Board. 
Volunteer to help update the card catalog, and help reorganize the Friends of the Library as a watchdog support group to preserve the quality and richness of our collection, much of which can be returned to the shelves from local residents who purchased public library books from the AAUW.