Re: Library failure (RE: NOT the "Serials Crisis" -- Dan Lester) -- Thomas McCaffrey Stephen Clark 30 Sep 2002 14:06 UTC
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: RE:Library failure (RE: NOT the "Serials Crisis" -- Dan Lester) -- Rick Anderson Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2002 08:46:11 -0400 From: "McCaffrey, Thomas" <McCaffrey@champlain.edu> I disagree, very strongly, with all 3 of your answers here-- at least depending on where the patron has come seeking these. Perhaps a patron of the Library of Congress, or one of the great libraries of the world, would have an expectation of finding the Gutenberg bible, but for most libraries, no. And you condition that statement with "right away"--more on that condition later. Your second statement is unclear--If you as a library are one of those 30, or are a major research facility where you can expect to gain access to one of those 30 copies, then, in the course of time, yes, you should be able to provide the use of that volume. I wouldn't expect to be able to fulfill such a request here, for example. Your third, the textbook, IS at the discretion of your library's policies. Again, if you are a major institution, with vast resources & space, by all means, provide textbooks. If you are a little hole in the wall like we are, there is no space, let alone the staff for dealing with acquisitioning texts. If we are to serve the many, we must risk disappointing the unreasonable few. And I take great exception with your expression of "right away"--There is a difference between providing good service, and being "fast". The internet generation has come to believe that all things useful need to be available at the speed of electronic light. With all deliberate speed, yes, your patrons have a right to believe you are doing your best to fulfill their needs. But 'right away"? Sorry, there are no "Library Emergencies", short of fire, flood, or earthquake. Good things come to those who wait. -------- Original Message -------- From: "Rick Anderson" <rickand@unr.edu> Subject: Library failure (RE: NOT the "Serials Crisis" -- Dan Lester) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 08:20:09 -0700 > If I come in and seek the Gutenberg Bible and > don't get it right away, is that a failure? Yes. > If I come in and ask for > a rare book published in 1775 and owned by only thirty libraries in > the country, is that a failure? Yes. > If I come in and ask for a copy of my > English 101 textbook, and the library, by policy, doesn't purchase > textbooks, is that a failure? Yes. In all three cases, the library has failed in the attempt to provide needed information to its patrons. That doesn't mean that the library isn't a good library; all libraries (like all people and organizations) will fail sometimes. But the standard against which we measure ourselves should not, in my opinion, be what librarians consider to be good information service. It should be based on what our patrons need. If we can't (or simply don't) give them what they need, that's a failure whether or not our level of service is consistent with professional standards. I'm not a big fan of corporate management rhetoric, but I've always liked Jack Welch's observation that in too many organizations, "Most people have their a--es to the customer and their faces to the chairman." Substitute "patron" for "customer" and "professional standards" for "chairman," and I think you've got a pretty fair assessment (no pun intended) of where we stand as a profession right now. ------------- Rick Anderson Director of Resource Acquisition The University Libraries University of Nevada, Reno "Beware any theory that 1664 No. Virginia St. explains everything and Reno, NV 89557 predicts nothing." PH (775) 784-6500 x273 -- Richard C. Galbraith FX (775) 784-1328 rickand@unr.edu