From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Sat Feb 25 2006 - 08:24:59 EST
Hi Jurriaan, > Yes, well it's a funny thing how they talk about the "knowledge economy" > and the "information age" and then shut down libraries which are needed > by people who don't have all the gizmo's of the sophisticated classes. > But my experience is that librarians are generally quite skilled at the > politics of information, and demonstrating the need for libraries. I'm not sure what you mean by "skilled" in this context. In any event, struggles by workers aren't won through amassing evidence in support of one's demands. They are won through unity, solidarity, and militancy. Research and data can help (especially in the context of corporate campaigns and union whistle-blowing, both tactics I have some experience with) but neither capital nor the state can be expected to concede to the demands of unions or working-class communities based on that alone. I'm sure that librarians in some urban areas and regions are well organized, although public school teachers are even more organized internationally. As it happens, the movie I saw last night, "Granito de Arena" (2005; Jill Freidberg) concerned a 25-year struggle by Mexican teachers against the effort by the Mexican state and international capital (in the form of the IMF and the World Bank) to dismantle public education. That struggle -- like struggles by state workers elsewhere internationally -- depended primarily on their ability to unite, reach out effectively for community support and solidarity, and be willingly to militantly confront both the state and their own union leadership. In that case, the struggle against the cutbacks and privatization was also a struggle for union democracy (the Mexican teachers' union leadership had a long history of corruption and violence towards militants; one former president was described as "Jimmy Hoffa with a dress"; indeed, whether it was a real union is questionable since its presidents were appointed by the state rather than elected by the membership). So ... I am not as convinced as you seem to be that librarians will be able to effectively struggle to keep libraries open and preserve their jobs. We shall see .... It should also be noted, in the case of college libraries, that in recent years many colleges have de-funded to a significant degree the amount allowed in library budgets for purchases. And they have also attempted a kind of 'rationalization' among libraries in different colleges: e.g. in NYC, students at one college often have the right to use their library card at many other colleges in the city. By doing so, each individual school can cut back on their book and periodical purchases. So libraries _are_ being attacked (on many fronts: a high school friend who now lives in Australia, Linda Javin, had a book she wrote --_Eat Me_, a kind of feminist erotic novel -- banned from a public library in Florida). > Often people think > trading in access rights to information is great, until they have to fork > out big themselves, to get it. Then they start yelling that information > ought to be freely or cheaply available, or that there should be more > competition to drive down prices. Well, these are real issues. I don't think it's a stretch to think that the cost of electronic acquisitions _will_ go down. Yes, there are "intellectual property rights" issues, but publishers also have competitive incentives to shift more into e-publishing. Indeed, it's already happening -- on a huge scale. But, at least for the time being, most books and periodicals which are sold in an electronic format are also sold in the more traditional 'hard' format. > But really Jerry, I'm sorry but I have to take a break from OPE-L, however > intellectually stimulating, as I have too many things to do, and people > get pissed off because you make them wait. Sure. I understand completely: we all have lives outside of this list that need attending to. > The interesting question about the TP > is, why do people persist for so long in an error? I'm not interested in discussing the TP. In solidarity, Jerry
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