Monday, April 2, 2012

Concern about Proposals Being Implemented

There has been some weeding done at the library. No big deal, right? All libraries do weeding. And the books go into the used book shop/ sale and then the money the used books bring in just goes back to the library, right?

What if that's not what was happening?


There are many rumblings about Frank Novak himself doing the weeding. There is a policy in place about what criteria is used to weed books and the policy states that there should be a second opinion given before any books are discarded. There is concern that this procedure is not being followed as it was reported that Frank gave directions to throw books away without letting any staff or the Friends of the Library see. Why the secrecy? Was it because these were perfectly good books?

In the last month, representatives from businesses have been given tours of the top two floors of the Main library.

So the question many of us are asking is this: If the proposals were merely "theoretical" why the secret weeding? Why are there prospective renters looking at the second and third floors? Massive weeding and renting out the 2nd and 3rd floors are both objectives of the proposals. So many people are concerned that Frank is slinking ahead to work to get them implemented.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you to SOL for keeping the citizens of Rockford updated about the current library crisis. What a brilliant idea, posting the video link showing how ridiculously empty the Main library shelves are now!
    I was at the March 26 board meeting, so I was a witness to Frank playing victim as the courageous members of the library union FINALLY stepped forward and spoke up against his "theoretical" plans "intended to generate discussion".
    I believe he's starting to get the messages that he's not indispensible, that he can't run the library like his own personal little business firm, and that if he generates "negativity" throughout the community, it's naturally bound to come back to him sooner or later.
    It's so important that we all keep attending these monthly board meetings, even if we don't say anything. It's crucial that Frank and the board are not allowed to forget that we're still holding them accountable for the way they use our tax dollars!

    ReplyDelete
  2. One thing I forgot to mention in my comment yesterday is the matter of the community survey Paul Logli promised to us at the March 26 Board of Trustees meeting. This survey is supposed to help the Board find out what library services Rockford citizens want their tax dollars to go toward.
    I personally believe that this survey should have been initiated by Mr. Logli back in January when the public first became aware of Frank Novak's plans. Be that as it may, I think it might be a good idea for us to keep politely asking for the details and the status of this survey at the upcoming Board meetings. This will let them know that we haven't forgotten about it, and that we insist on giving our input before any drastic changes are made to the library system.

    ReplyDelete