Few Guides from Project Vote Smart

Communications snafu with ALA strands most PLs until 2008

By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 6/15/2006

Project Vote Smart (PVS), a nonpartisan organization that supplies much-appreciated Voter Self-Defense Guides to libraries for distribution, won't be serving as many libraries this year. Blame it on a spectacular series of miscommunications between PVS and the American Library Association (ALA), which led to an announced cutoff of all materials, though that has been partly resolved.

PVS has 1200 libraries of various types in its database, and its board required an ALA letter of support before it invested more in the project. PVS library coordinator Kira Buscaglia told LJ that the production and shipping of the materials to libraries cost about $250,000 in each election year, not counting staff time.

ALA executive director Keith Fiels posted a note on the ALA Council list to Buscaglia: “I must tell you that in the course of numerous communications with you, it was never clear to me as Executive Director of the American Library Association exactly what support you were requesting from ALA, and the first notice that I received that a letter was required to prevent termination of funding for the program was a voice mail message from you, a day or two prior to your Board meeting, that was left on my answering machine while I was traveling overseas.” PVS president Richard Kimball responded May 12 with a letter to libraries that detailed an extensive series of attempts by PVS staff to get ALA officials to cooperate.

ALA president-elect Leslie Burger told LJ that, after a conversation with Kimball, PVS agreed to honor the orders already placed by 153 libraries. Buscaglia said some other longtime PVS library partners may receive PVS materials, depending on availability. “There was a misunderstanding about what they were looking for and the urgency of this letter,” said Burger, who noted that the program should resume at full strength in 2008.