By Jim Sterne
News Editor
To address unrelenting problems with the Chicago Public Library administration, a group of determined staff and library users met last Thursday at Prologue School, 640 W. Irving Park Rd. to form a new group: Librarians and Patrons Public Alert (LPPA.)
David Williams, executive board member of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and reference librarian at Bessie Coleman Branch of the Chicago Public Library (CPL), presided over the meeting. His overview of the problems at CPL included the moving of personnel to other library facilities which degrades service and is against the AFSCME contract with the CPL, the lack of accountability regarding the $2.5 million budget for materials, and the policy of moving from a book repository to an Internet based information system.
“There are certain things you can find on the Internet but a lot you can’t, especially if you have special or scholarly interests,” said Jeff Vega, 49, a lifelong Chicago resident. “The city is obligated to have a library at that level...at least one library that exemplary high school students or college students can research a special interest.”
Vega went on to deride the CPL policy to shift from books to the Internet. “I’ve seen more junk in libraries—videos that you can get at any video store—and fewer books. Sure, the Internet is important especially for people who can’t afford a computer, but to shift away from books, which is what libraries are all about, is a big mistake.”
Williams explained that part of the problem is not getting straight answers for what is purchased. “It is a matter of record that the library’s budget for 1995 was $4.3 million and $2.5 million in 2002. That is a significant decrease and we don’t get an answer about what the money is spent on—is it software, or computers, or what?” Williams asked.
The meeting shifted focus to what should be done to address these problems. Public actions like passing out leaflets will be undertaken as they have been in the past. Recently, pamphlets were passed out at Steppenwolf Theater before their production of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” a play about book burning.
Williams is just one of the many accredited librarians who have been moved from Harold Washington Library (HWL) in the CPL’s “balancing” policy. The union contract permits some “balancing” but all must be done according to reverse seniority. “The CPL decided to ignore that part of the agreement and let the employees grieve it,” Williams said.
Bringing a grievance against the CPL in compliance with the union contract is a process that takes six months to a year for the preliminary hearing. “By that time some employees might just quit to avoid the hassle,” Williams said. He has been working for the CPL for 27 years. He was transferred from HWL to the Bessie Coleman branch in late October.
Opponents of CPL policies won most of the positions in the AFSCME election last month. “It is proof that the subservient role the union has played with the CPL is over,” said Williams.
“The city builds neighborhood library branches to increase the property values but they don’t have any books and they haven’t hired any new staff for them,” said Williams.
Another strategy discussed at the meeting was approaching the Chicago Teachers’ Union, which has also elected an new president after years of quiescence with city policy. “We should get a list of the books teachers want to see in the public library and work with them to provide those books,” Williams said.
“This should be done with the colleges and universities in Chicago,” said Ed Nilges, a former DeVry teacher. “Many universities in Chicago use the CPL as their library, and so do many Chicago Public Schools because there is so little funding for school libraries.” The resources of an area are considered when evaluating an institution of higher learning, so it is important that Chicago have at least one research library with a professional staff, Nilges added.
Another participant suggested that the Local School Councils should be aware of the libraries’ importance to their schools. Suggestions for outreach to them and others will be put before CPL Board meetings. The CPL Board of Directors meets the third Tuesday of every month.
A draft petition was passed to participants that listed these grievances. It was addressed to university faculty, teachers and all those concerned with education. “We call upon the CPL administration to rededicate itself to providing the full range of knowledge and information to the citizens of Chicago,” the petition demands.
Librarians & Patrons Public Alert (LPPA) will next meet on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m., at a location to be announced. The group will address the following areas of activity: 1. Establishing a Research Committee to look more closely at library budgeting, book acquisitions, and other matters. 2. Pressing forward with a citywide petition campaign to demand more books in both the central library and the branches, and strengthening the reference staff. The group is also seeking to inject the library issue into the aldermanic campaigns where possible. 3. Holding a series of forums on library-related issues, including the relation of the public library to American democracy, appropriate and inappropriate functions of the Internet, and the place of books in the educational process and general enlightenment. 4. Arranging for continued media coverage of library affairs.
If you are interested in participating in the Librarians & Patrons Public Alert and in any particular aspect of the above-mentioned activities, call Williams at (773) 244-1480. |
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