Some local librarians say the book-buying contract gives the outside company the upper hand. But state librarian Bart Kane has said the state has plenty of options - including ending the contract - if the company fails to improve.
The public meeting is expected to draw librarians, patrons and local publishers, as well as executives from Baker & Taylor, the North Carolina-based company granted a five-year, $11.2 million contract to select and process all new books for Hawaii's 48 public libraries.
"It will give the librarians a good chance to speak directly to, and hear directly from, Baker & Taylor," said Kelly King, chairwoman of the board's Library Services Committee.
Hawaii is the first state to give such broad control of its book selection to an outside company.
Local librarians complain that they have received hundreds of duplicate, cheap and useless books since the first shipment last summer.
Since mid-December, 56 copies of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" arrived, even though Hawaii libraries already had 27 copies and they were not flying off the shelves, one librarian said yesterday.
One issue likely to arise at tomorrow's meeting is a clause in Baker & Taylor's contract that says the "state acknowledges and agrees that the performance targets set forth ... are target goals only and contractor's failure to achieve any or all of them will not constitute an event of default."
King said she has heard from librarians who fear that clause makes it impossible to hold Baker & Taylor accountable.
Kane has assured board members otherwise, but King also is seeking an opinion on the matter from the state attorney general's office.
Kane was off-island yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
But he said last week that Baker & Taylor, one of the nation's largest book distributors, is being held accountable and is improving. The company's reputation is at stake since "libraries all over the country are watching this."
A Baker & Taylor representative could not be reached for comment.
The Board of Education's Library Services Committee meets on a controversial book-buying contract:
When: 3:30 p.m. Thursday