Feedback

I am a staff member at the New York Public Library (NYPL) and, like my colleagues, really concerned as to what's going on. I was glad to read Francine Fialkoff's “Two NYPLs or One?" (Editorial, LJ 2/1/08, p. 8) about the current situation but amazed to read that you said that the city council did not know about the impending sale of the Donnell Library.

Like many on the staff, I am afraid to use my real name, but, like many, I wrote to several elected officials in advance of the Donnell sale.... I couldn't use my real name, but these people still could have looked into the matter. The secrecy and lack of staff and public input at NYPL, except for sycophants, is really disturbing. The library is a public resource. It is a huge, serious problem and perhaps one of questionable dealings.

We are all so scared to communicate. Maybe...LJ could make some public statement about how staff should be allowed to come forward to give their opinions without fear of reprisals. Many of us have sent emails to city council members.

Francine Fialkoff, please keep up the good work. Let's get an open discussion about the real issues here! I think some things would come out that would surprise everyone.

This is not about better library service. We all want that.

—Name withheld upon request

The Donnell Library is the best-run library in the New York Public Library (NYPL) system (Francine Fialkoff, “Two NYPLs or One?” Editorial, LJ 2/1/08, p. 8). Those of us who use the library almost on a daily basis and have come to know the people who work there are very unhappy at recent events.

The genius who made this decision (quite underhandedly) evidently does not know the surrounding area or doesn't care a whit. The New York Hilton Hotel is just a block away, as is the Sheraton. Why sell out to a developer to build yet another unneeded hotel? “Money makes the world go round,” and I guess dollar signs count more than a great children's library and reading in general.

Fialkoff has the gift of describing my feelings plus those of many others. What a state of affairs—even the New York Public Library has sold out to greed.

—Judy Kaplan, New York

Finding an entry-level job in the profession is extremely difficult in most markets (David Conners & Laena McCarthy, “The Jobs Can Be Found,” LJ 9/1/07, p. 44–45; Rachel Holt & Adrienne L. Strock, “The Entry Level Gap,” LJ 5/1/05, p. 36–38). It is not uncommon for people to be looking for professional library work for years. Aside from the shortage of jobs, this has to do with common employment practices that exclude entry-level candidates from the few entry-level jobs that exist.

Public libraries, in their efforts to be objective, routinely score candidates for entry-level jobs based on prior experience working in a public library. They give an “experience-based” interview, a line of questioning beginning with “Describe your experiences doing X.” X is a task that is very specific to public libraries....

Practices like this mean that entry-level candidates or candidates coming from other types of libraries or positions will inevitably be passed over for more experienced but not necessarily more qualified candidates. In public libraries, there really are no entry-level [jobs] unless there are no applicants with public library experience....

We know that academic libraries frequently prefer a second M.A. or knowledge of several languages, thus making those jobs more difficult to obtain. They also prefer experience with the type of systems only used by large universities. The application process is skewed to those with prior academic library experience, often requiring...professional letters of recommendation. The person without academic library experience cannot get letters of recommendation from former employers....

These screening practices would not be used if unemployed librarians were not so abundant....

—Emily Nedell Tuck, Grateful To Be Employed Librarian

It would be awesome if libraries were mentioned during the Presidential election process. Government on every level should allow citizens to check a box that says, “I want my taxes to go to maintaining a free society through free and open access to information that allows me to make decisions no matter who I am, who I know, or how much money I have contributed to a campaign.” Let's all raise our voices.... We want stable, sufficient, and secure funding for libraries nationwide, and we want it now.

—Susan L. Hauer, Administrator, Lib. Syst. of Lancaster Cty., PA

Karen DeAngelo is the new Director of the Town of Ballston Community Library, Burnt Hills, NY. She is not director of the Ballston Spa Public Library, NY, as reported in People (LJ 2/1/08, p. 22). Andrea Simmons remains the director of the Ballston Spa Public Library.