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By Sean Patrick Lyons. While all three citizens were ultimately able to obtain the information they sought...
- Subject: By Sean Patrick Lyons. While all three citizens were ultimately able to obtain the information they sought...
- From: Don Saklad <dsaklad@GNU.ORG>
- Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 03:21:34 -0400
- Reply-to: Don Saklad <dsaklad@GNU.ORG>
- Sender: Archives & Archivists <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
By Sean Patrick Lyons.
While all three citizens were ultimately able to obtain
the information they sought...
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/098/west/Access_denied%2b.shtml
Read Sean Patrick Lyons at the above link.
Please consider these matters of denial of service at
our cities' public libraries Departments
Reference Desks.
Our Regional and Massachusetts Library of Last Recourse
so called, City of Boston Public Library Departments
Reference Desks have censored their very own
curatorial reports with respect to collection
development. The reports compiled by BPL curatorial
personnel, related reports and consultants' reports
are sources of information, descriptive bibliography
about our public library collections.
For example, BPL Government Documents Department
Reference Desk and Social Sciences Department
Reference Desk even have denied service by not
providing alternatives to the information from other
sources which when information can not be provided
you would think would be done routinely.
Ironically, BPL Social Sciences Department Curator
Mary Francis O'Brien is on a state board delegated
with responsibilities in the matter, the Massachusetts
Historical Records Advisory Board
http://www.state.ma.us/sec/arc/arcaac/aacinfo.htm
Mary Francis O'Brien has yet to return a call with
respect to the BPL Social Sciences Reference Desk
curatorial reports and has inappropriately made denial
of service at the Reference Desk a response, refusing
to engage discussion of the request because it isn't a
reference question. How bizarre!
Counterintuitively, BPL Research Catalog Department
Officer Dorothy Keller attempted to put forth a
turnabout, a false unconfirmed accusation of racism
merely as one tactic for denial of service. Our BPL
climate is one of qualifying for access by giving
the right answers to questions that don't pertain
to the information.
BPL President Bernie Margolis delegated Operations
Director Ruth Kowal with responsibility for Reference
Desk requests.
http://www.bpl.org/WWW/news/directors.html
BPL has reported individual users of our public
library Reference Desk and their requests to City Hall
contrary to principles of Reference Desk services and
a tactic to deter public library users.
http://www.ala.org/rusa/stnd_behavior.html
BPL has attempted to extort user fees for access,
another tactic for denial of service.
Attempts to send comment, concerns, suggestions and
questions about the matter have not been considered
legitimate reference desk questions, another denial of
what would be considered customer services excellence.
Theoretically, our cities' public libraries represent
alternatives when you need information about City
Hall. But BPL and other cities' public libraries flout
intellectual freedom principles with denial of service
at Departmental Reference Desks not only to public
library users but also public library personnel and
public library unions collective bargaining units
labor relations advocates hypocritically.
BPL Government Documents Curator Gail Fithian hasn't
included city public library departments own public
documents in the collection development program
directly. Boston needs a transmittal policy for City
Hall public documents to our public library. City
Clerk Rosaria Salerno hasn't made City Council minutes
available even though public stenographic recorders,
services already used at the City Council, have the
technology that could make minutes available on the
city web links in a manner most timely.
Our BPL President should advocate for a City Hall
Reading Room with primary sources, city public
documents at hand and more extensive web links with
City government documents. It's logically part of a
robust public libraries department program.
Interactivity, where people interested, concerned or
affected by the information can submit requests for it
should be a part of more robust city public libraries
departments program for customer services excellence
and maybe even as one way of promoting to talented
people potential careers around public service issues.
Masschusetts Library Commissioners like John Arnold
have responsibility for disseminating information
about these matters of denial of service to our
cities' public libraries Reference Desks
http://mlin.lib.ma.us
oo__ dWs
Guide to Problematical Boston Public Library Library Use
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.com/stories
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