I recently got an email from a Ben Fuller-Googins from the Librarians’ Guild, the union representing workers of the Los Angeles Public Library system, which, as you know, has undergone severe service cuts the past year. Ben emailed me asking how he can speak at the January 24 East Hollywood Neighborhood Council meeting regarding Measure L on the March 3 citywide ballot, which will amend the City Charter to increase the allocation of property tax revenue given to the library system. Supporters hope the passage of the measure will restore 7-day-a-week service to the LAPL system by the end of Summer.
I also asked Ben via email why the Librarians’ Guild ignored our correspondence to them since April of last year, especially when when we asked if they can set up a booth at our ‘We Love Cahuenga Library’ Big Sunday event in May. You know, because we also want to save the Library too. At an event on the grounds of a Library. And gave them a forum by which to promote their cause. Their savethelibrary.org website only lists an email address (savethelibrary@hotmail.com), yet no postal address or phone number. They also have a Twitter account and Facebook page, but after asking them via Twitter why they never responded, I only got a, “Oh you never got a response?” response.
FACEPALM.
Fortunately (I hope) Ben explained that he was newly-hired by the Librarians’ Guild to co-run the “Yes on L” campaign, and that the “Save The Library” campaign was one that was run (not very well, I suppose) by some other folks in the Guild. He apologized and explained that “the Guild has learned a lot from the successes and mistakes from that campaign” and is trying to improve with the new one, especially since he and a laid-off LAPL messenger clerk were hired specifically for this campaign.
I’ll give Ben the benefit of the doubt since he obviously wasn’t the one responsible for not responding to a community group willing to support their cause. But a little communications common sense goes a long way. I did tell him to forward my email rant to anyone who was involved in the “Save The Library” campaign, though.
If you need to contact the Librarians’ Guild, you can email them at guild.ben.natasha@gmail.com. At least in my experience, they will actually reply now.
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