David Hoppe

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:: Unionizing the public library

Before it's too late

By David Hoppe

Libraries are known for being quiet places. But if you go to the Indianapolis-Marion County Library, or any of its branches, you might easily imagine that you can hear a chorus whispering through the stacks: "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"

A majority of employees at the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library want to form a union. That's right, a union. The library workers have asked the Library Board to recognize their attempt to organize under the banner of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Now if you think that what we have here is nothing but a bunch of disgruntled public employees looking to feed a little more bountifully at the public trough, think again. In the first place, this is 2006, not 1956. In case you haven't noticed, the rest of the working world has pretty much declared RIP to the age of labor unions. You'll also notice that, so far, the librarians haven't been talking about unionizing in order to make more money for themselves. Finally, as public employees, the librarians would be prohibited from striking, so the desire to organize doesn't seem intended as a threat.

No, the librarians' attempt to form a union is their way of telling the rest of us that our public library system is in deep trouble.

If you have occasion to drive by the long-running construction site on St. Clair St. that used to be our Central Library, you may have reached that conclusion on your own. Cost over-runs, law suits and construction delays have turned what started as a symbol of civic ambition into a massive headache that will likely end as a sigh of relief.

Building projects, though, for all their hassles and embarrassments, are eventually completed. Someday the Central Library will reopen. What the librarians are telling us is that when that happens, something important could be missing.

The librarians and staff of our public library system are a proud bunch - they have reason to be. Not only has IMCPL been nationally recognized as one of the top systems of its size in the country, its workers have succeeded in building an uncommon level of public support. Our library system has always been a justifiable source of civic pride and a proof that, whatever our other shortcomings might be, this city holds fast to the principles of equal opportunity and knowledge for everybody.

Today these librarians see their work being undermined by management. Their attempt to form a union is an expression of their dedication to the system they have helped to build - and to the community. They are organizing in order to be heard.

Among their grievances, the librarians cite what they see as an erosion of the library's collection. People who regularly attend library book sales are lately amazed at the treasures they find - wonderful hard-to-find books, for example, that are out of print. Materials like these have been weeded as a cost-cutting measure. They have been replaced by pop titles in massive, redundant numbers that, the librarians say, quickly lose their attraction. Things with lasting value are replaced by things that are disposable. It amounts to a systematic dumbing down.

The Central Library's collection, say the librarians, has been all but dismantled. Materials are no longer assigned to a permanent location; they float throughout the system. This devalues the library as a place - to visit, browse or, particularly, to consult with a librarian.

But that's what's happening. Under the present administration, presided over by library CEO Linda Mielke and Board president Louis Mahern, the library has seen its professional public service staff cut practically in half.

The librarians say that the role of the professional librarian has been devalued, that their input is ignored by administration, which shows a lack of interest in public input as well.

In her defense, library CEO Mielke says that the public supports what she's doing. Last year, she says, circulation increased four percent. But in 1987 circulation increased 7.1 percent. In 1989 it was up 9.5 percent. And in 1990 circulation increased 12.7 percent.

Public libraries, like every other form of institution these days, must fight for relevance in a world that's loaded with information sources, technologies and delivery systems. But to see the library only in terms of the information and entertainment it provides is to miss its larger point. Public libraries are vital places, where what's invisible - knowledge - can be experienced in three dimensions. It's one thing to talk about community, the public library is where you can actually experience it. This is what we stand to lose under the present library administration. This is why the librarians want to form a union.

The Library Board can reject this proposal. They can refuse to recognize the librarians' grievances. If that happens, the librarians and the rest of their supporters will have to resort to the political action necessary to replace the board members responsible for this mess. That will be worth doing - but as rebuilding projects go, it will make what's going on at the St. Clair St. site look easy.