Librarians can start
buying next week

The plan allows personnel
to purchase materials from many
vendors in the state

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Kaneohe librarian Deborah Gutermuth has a list of reference books and videos to purchase beginning next week for her library.

A majority of 50 library teams last week voted to approve a plan that will bring new books into the 49 libraries beginning Aug. 25.

State Librarian Bart Kane yesterday recommended that the state library system proceed with the plan.

Highlights of the plan:

It gives librarians, branch managers and employees with selection responsibility "complete and full authority" to select materials for their libraries.

It continues meetings to discuss and review selection of materials for both young adult and juveniles. Those materials represent nearly 50 percent of library circulation.

It allows librarians to acquire materials at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks, Native Books, any vendor from a current list approved by the state Department of Accounting and General Services and any vendors approved to do business with the state.

It assigns seven catalogers at the Hawaii State Library, where space and equipment are available, to catalog new purchases and deal with a backlog of nearly 7,000 gift books and recent purchases.

It makes each library responsible for processing its own books.

It increases student helper hours to a maximum 19 hours a week until Dec. 31 so the students can help shelve new materials.

Approval of a proposed short-term and long-term plan was put on hold until questions raised by library employees could be answered and they could be given more time to give feedback. Of 50 library teams that responded by Aug. 14, 43 approved of the proposed plan - 31 with reservations or more questions. Seven teams disapproved of the plan, six of them had with additional questions. Those with reservations said they needed more time to review the short and longer-term plans which covers selection and acquisition from Dec. 31 and over the next five years.

A worry is whether the proposed unit of catalogers is sufficient. If not, it may result in a bigger backlog of uncataloged books that the public can't check out.

"I'm afraid we'll go out and buy, and the backlog gets so bad, people will be doubly frustrated and doubly angry," said Sylvia Mitchell, Liliha branch manager.

Other librarians say they have stacks of books under and behind their desks that have yet to be cataloged and haven't been counted in the backlog. "We need the materials but we can't have a free-for-all," said Faith Arakawa, president of the Hawaii Librarians Association. "It may be more chaotic in the long-term."

Kane said catalogers believe they will be able to handle the workload, and new computers will be bought to assist them.