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By Staff -- Library Journal, 6/15/2007

Brooklyn catches up

The words, “which makes her the first African American woman to head a major library in the state” caught my attention in your story “Mack-Harvin To Head Brooklyn PL” (LJ 4/15/07, p. 16). Just to satisfy my curiosity, I looked at the latest census figures for New York, Alabama, and Florida. All three states have a large number of African American residents. An African American woman heads the Birmingham Public Library system in Alabama where I once worked and has for a number of years. On the west coast of Florida where I now work, another African American woman directs the St. Petersburg Public Libraries. Congratulations, Brooklyn—you finally caught up with Alabama and Florida in racial equity among library administrators.—Jane Mitchell, St. Pete Beach PL, FL

I agree with Roy Tennant's assertion that the MARC record could be trimmed down (“Bibliographic Control Future,” Digital Libraries, LJ 4/15/07, p. 34). But the notion that because only ten MARC fields are “commonly used” only ten are needed strikes me as silly and simplistic. MARC is complicated but necessarily so, because the bibliographic world it describes is rich and complex. Many MARC fields apply to specialized formats and so are not used frequently. For example, the 255 field includes scale and projection information that map users need. The infrequently used 580 field is required to make sense of complex serial title changes.

This debate is a rehash of the stereotype that catalogers spend their days obsessing over the placement of semicolons. Most of my cataloging time is spent analyzing content and then assigning controlled name and subject headings. Esoteric and specialized? Maybe. A waste of time? No. At least not according to our reference librarians, who find comprehensive cataloging information essential as they help researchers.

If library systems designers would make better use of this wealth of information, the real strength of library finding tools could be in the carefully structured data already found in library databases but not in the web sites that are Google's domain.—Tim Carstens, Head of Cataloging, Western Carolina Univ., Cullowhee, NC

As a proud alumna of Ohio State University (OSU), I read with great interest your cover article “Pride of the Buckeyes” by Andrew Richard Albanese (LJ 4/1/07, p. 32–35), which details the restoration of the Thompson Library where I spent so much of my time as a student. I now work in a public library in suburban Cleveland. If OSU library director Joe Branin really wants to “reach out to the larger Ohio community,” eliminating the $20 interlibrary loan fee would go a long way toward accomplishing that.—Diane Greenbaum, Wickliffe PL, OH

Reading the always interesting LJ Periodicals Price Survey (Lee C. Van Orsdel & Kathleen Born, “Serial Wars,” LJ 4/15/07, p. 43–48), I was bewildered to find the unequivocally false assertion that the Association of American Publishers (AAP) had launched “a campaign of disinformation against” the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA).

As a member of the Executive Council of AAP's Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division, I am more than a little distressed to find myself and my colleagues falsely accused of lying. And, more generally, to find an accusation of this sort made with absolutely no substantiation is both disturbing and disappointing.

The accusation was not supported for a very simple reason: there is nothing to support it. It is no secret that there are differences of opinion about the wisdom of FRPAA. But that certainly should not preclude a rational discussion of the issues involved. The intensity of the debate does not provide an excuse for “disinformation” by any of the parties involved. I can only hope that future articles on this topic will continue to provide useful information—without the false, and harmful, rhetoric.—Lynne C. Rienner, Lynne Rienner Pubs., Inc., Boulder, CO

Jackie Cornette is about as “professional” as you can get (John Berry, “Jackie Cornette: Paraprofessional of the Year 2007,” LJ 3/1/07, p. 30–31). Sue Knoche (“Paraprofessional support,” Feedback, LJ 5/1/07, p. 10) sounds like she also takes being a librarian seriously. When a person puts that much energy and effort into a job, they deserve recognition. However, I am praising the professional librarianship you both represent. I encourage the acknowledgement of non-MLS librarians as professionals. Paraprofessional is a misnomer. A paraprofessional assists licensed professions such as doctors, lawyers, and others who are required to be licensed by law. There are legions of librarians in a non-MLS librarian capacity honoring and promoting the library systems of the world. These professionals are getting extra education and certification through library technical assistant programs and work experience. Let's really honor them and give them full credit for their contributions and dedication to this profession.—Catherine Korthals, Adult Svcs. Libn., Elburn, IL