On Aug 28, 2008, at 2:20 PM, WIZARD MARKS wrote:
> Well, it turns out I was more right than wrong.
>
> The county appointed library board wants the 4,500 member, 60 year-
> old, Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library to dissolve itself,
> giving over its entire membership to an umbrella department of the
> HCL system which, in turn will spawn 41 + 1 (digital) mini Friends
> of the (fill in specific branch) Library.
>
> The Friends object to the county high-handedly resolving to dissolve
> the Friends. (I call this the cultural genocide gambit).
>
> Also at issue is the donation policy (LB Policy 9). In 2004 HCL
> library policy was that they accepted donations of money, but the
> library employees would decide where to spend the money, the donor
> could not specify how the library would use the money. The policy
> was often honored in the breach.
>
> That policy was changed, but it still does not guarantee that
> donations will go to the branch specified by the donor. Ergo, money
> like NRP money, for instance, will not necessarily remain in the
> neighborhood libraries, nor does it guarantee that money donated to
> community libraries will be used for the purposes it was donated.
>
> This is a hugely sticky wicket. If you want to donate money or
> collections to the library, the library can either reject the
> donation, as they do in terms of objects people have tried to donate
> to the library (books, original art work, musical instruments), or
> accept money, but ignore the donator's wishes.
>
> I would estimate that there is another six months of conversations
> between the board and the Friends, but that there is by no means a
> meeting of the minds at this point.
>
> It was also clear that the county board has a steep learning curve
> to endure while the learn to unite the two different cultural
> entities that comprise the merged library. The instinct, announced
> from the beginning by insisting on the name being Hennepin County
> Library, is that the county government will control, through this
> >appointed< board, what and how much Minneapolis Libraries will be
> supported.
>
> My nightmares are coming to fruition. I hate when that happens.
>
>
>
> Wizard Marks
> Central, Mpls.
> Info about Wizard Marks: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/wizardmarks
>
> This topic's messages may be viewed at:
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