Library Worklife

ALA-APA News

Democracy in Action

Illinois Library Advocacy Day

By Jenifer Grady, Director, ALA-APA

Have you been to an Advocacy Day? How did you make sure your message was received? On April 21st, I traveled with a group of trustees, friends, support staff, librarians, and library organization staff to Springfield, Illinois, for Illinois Library Advocacy Day. It was an incredible trip. At 5:45 am, we left Chicago to pick up colleagues at the Suburban Library System in Burr Ridge, IL. The bus trip was hosted by the Chicago Multitype Library System (CMLS). Everyone was excited about telling Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and their legislators about issues particular to their libraries and library systems as well as to libraries overall.

We introduced ourselves, told what we were reading, and received detailed instructions on how to make the best use of our time at the Illinois State Capitol. Veronda Pitchford, Assistant Director of CMLS, explained how to navigate the building to find the senators and representatives from our districts and the importance of telling our own story to the elected officials as well as their assistants, who are important intermediaries in the alliances we wanted to forge. New advocates were encouraged to pair up with a seasoned advocate. Marci Merola, Public Relations Specialist for Advocacy at ALA’s Public Information Office, distributed Quotable Facts about American’s Libraries in English and Spanish and bookmarks to leave with the politicians.

When we arrived, several Illinois library notables described the current legislation important to the state library community. The catchphrase for the day, which was emblazoned on promotional materials, was ILLINOIS LIBRARIES: A GREAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT. Then we were off to find our officials and convince them of how their votes would play a significant role in increasing the ROI of Illinois Libraries. We had lots of competition, from citizens advocating for prisons, youth programs, and childcare workers, as well as the school science competition being displayed in the hallways. At the end of the day, we all were invigorated by the legislators we met face-to-face, the staff who listened and promised to deliver our messages, opportunities to network, and the fact that we had some cool bags that asked all onlookers to "Imagine a day without libraries..."

Strike on National Library Workers Day

Nearly 400 employees of the Cleveland Public Library (Cleveland, OH) observed National Library Workers Day out on the street. Members of SEIU District 1199 organized a one-day strike on April 20, 2004 to protest concessions they were asked to take during negotiations to replace an expired contract. The union represents several categories of library workers.

In May 2003, the Library, with the help of employees at all levels of the organization, passed an unprecedented $5.8 million tax levy. The levy campaign focused on the Library’s service to the community and the fact that libraries enrich our neighborhoods. The levy provides at least $14 million additional dollars every year (for five years). However, the levy did not have an impact on settling contract negotiations in December of 2003. Debbie Hajzak, Chapter President of SEIU District 1199 at the Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, Ohio, identified the following contentious issues. Staff have been asked to make concessions in the areas of health care, seniority, job bidding and other provisions of a contract that has been in place for 18 years. The Library Administration has also proposed subcontracting work out-of-state, which is an issue of concern to union members who feel subcontracting will reduce staff and compromise the quality of work provided by catalogers who provide cataloging services to many local libraries as well as libraries worldwide through records provided to OCLC.

As of press time, the Library and the Union are still in contract negotiations.

Best Search Engine? A Librarian.

By Zay N. Smith, Chicago Sun-Times Columnist, April 11, 2004

www.suntimes.com/output/lifestyles/cst-nws-zay11.html

Zay N. Smith sings the praises of librarians and how it can be lucrative to develop a habit of calling on library staff when odd questions arise. One who learned this lesson the hard way was a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The librarians at the local branch were waiting to be a lifeline, but were never called.

All right. So how many people died in the Serbian Pig War of 1906?

Slipped your mind, right?

“I don’t know that one, just offhand,” said Frances Roehm, a reference librarian at the Skokie Public Library.

But know this: She’ll find out. This is a story about reference librarians, who find things out. And there are few places where it is done as well as at the library at 5215 Oakton St. It is a place worth a visit. “Once we were the lifeline for a contestant on ’Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ ” Roehm said. “Then there was the Mongolian gentleman who was having trouble translating his resume...” Or don’t visit. Call (847) 673-7774 with questions of your own. You’ll find out.

*****

“Librarians are the best search engine,” said Carolyn Anthony, the library’s director. “Our key is a staff that is well-trained and diverse, each with different specialties. One has a doctoral degree in English from Princeton, another has...” And then there is Gary Gustin, who started in music. He was studying at the Eastman School of Music, where he would get a master’s. “But I also got a job at a library in Rochester while I was studying,” he said. “And I found I enjoyed helping people find things out.” So now he has a master’s degree in library science, also, and has been answering questions for 20 years. Gustin is the go-to specialist for people who ask the musical questions, trying to interpret titles in foreign languages, trying to find a song. And what was the name, by the way, of the Chicago Symphony conductor who liked to pack a gun while conducting? “We on the staff kind of learn from each other,” he said. And on from music to everywhere else. This is the mission of the reference librarian: Describe the universe, and give examples. “We do statistics, business questions, trademark searches,” he said. “Kids call us with homework...” Or maybe you want to know the motto of Illinois (“State sovereignty, national union”). Or the distance from Chicago to Sayerville, N.J. (771 miles). Or the exact location on the planet Earth of the intersection of Monroe and Dearborn (41 52’ 52’’ N and 87 37’ 47’’ W). You name it. It was Artur Rodzinski who packed a gun, by the way.

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“We’re asked about 100,000 questions a year,” said Bruce Brigell, reference chief at the library. And his staff answers most of them. Brigell has been professional finder-out of things since the 1970s, since 1992 at Skokie. There are questions that can’t be answered: “We had a call from a woman who wanted to know how much Halloween candy to buy,” he said. Then again: “Then again, I suppose we could have done a demographic analysis of the community,” he said. But mostly the answers are found—some right away, some taking days. The questions come in by phone, on foot and on the Internet. “There is WebLibrarian that is a sort of consortium of some local libraries where the questions can be answered online, with each library taking a shift,” he said.

*****

Internet break.

Heading for . How many were killed in the Serbian Pig War of 1906? Thank you for using WebLibrarian! Don’t go away! Stay online and a librarian will be with you in a few moments. ... Hi, let me see what I can find. ... Have you tried any other resources yet? Not many. Hello, I think we got cut off. Are we connected now? Hello. Are you there? Hello? Well. No one said the Internet is perfect.

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Every minute or so rings a new question. “A man who was raised in Skokie called from Colorado,” Frances Roehm said. “He just wanted to know if the house he was raised in was still standing. So we went to the Cook County Assessor and checked other sources. The house was still there. ... Sometimes it can be a warm and fuzzy job.” And sometimes not. “When we were the lifeline on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,’ we were all standing there, ready,” Roehm said. “But the contestant never called us, so she lost. She thought the question was a real no-brainer, so she just answered it. Out came the wrong answer.” The question: Where are the Petronas Towers, tallest in the world, located? Wrong answer: Singapore. Right answer: Kuala Lumpur. Too bad the contestant didn’t call the Skokie Public Library. “I believe it cost her $125,000,” Roehm said. Oh. One other thing, Roehm says: “Gary checked into it, and no one was killed in the Serbian Pig War of 1906,” she said. And just then an e-mail arrives. WebLibrarian didn’t let a bad connection get in the way of an answer. The e-mail was from an Evanston Public Library librarian working the WebLibrarian shift: “The Serbian Pig War does not appear to have been an armed conflict on the battlefield, but rather an economic confrontation. From the book The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia by Tim Judah, Yale University Press 1993: ‘Objecting to Serbian moves to free up trade with Bulgaria, the Hapsburg monarchy banned the import of livestock, Serbia’s main export, in a move that became known as the Pig War.’” And also from the book ...Forget Philip Marlowe. Forget Sam Spade. Take a good reference librarian any time. Wait. Forgot to ask one thing. Just what was the name of Alexander Pope’s dog?

If you find out the dog’s name, send me an e-mail—jgrady@ala.org.