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I think that cost cutting is a symptom of the problem but
not the problem
itself. Almost every non-profit and public organization is faced at times
with cutting costs. Budgeting, after all, is a way of allocating scarce
resources. The problem is why decision-makers so often choose libraries as
the first place to cut costs. Why are libraries perceived as so
non-essential, especially in light of all the research? Why did Cleveland's
modern Orthodox day school, the largest Jewish day school in the area, go
from funding a full time professional librarian, to a part time professional
librarian, to a part time non-professional "librarian," to no librarian at
all - all in the space of a few years? Their full-time librarian was
outstanding but she left Jewish libraries altogether when her hours were cut
in half. Why are school libraries, including those in synagogues, so
totally ignored not only by the denominational organizations of which they
are a part as well as by the major Jewish educational organizations, such as
CAJE, JESNA, and PEJE? Why are Jewish libraries (and AJL) so totally
ignored by the Jewish Book Council, which it would be reasonable to expect
to act as the first line of support for Jewish libraries? Why does a
children's book about synagogues, written recently by Hara Person, the
editor-in-chief of URJ's publications, include not a word about synagogue
libraries? Why does a manual for Jewish teachers, published a few years ago
to great fan fare by Nechama Moskowitz of the Jewish Education Center of
Cleveland, contain just a few passing references to school libraries in its
many hundreds of pages? Why does AJL remain so passive in the midst of a
clear crisis? Why has no one proposed a 2008 convention session on a topic
relating to this issue? (That's a hint!)
Years ago, Ether Lubetsky talked about the need for AJL and Jewish
librarians to reach out to Jewish educational organizations and
decision-makers. This would be the first step toward a remedy. When Jewish
communal leaders and educational decision-makers are barely aware of Jewish
libraries and probably totally ignorant of AJL, why would we expect them to
support an educational service (libraries) that falls under their radar
screens? It seems to me that a big public relations effort aimed at the
Jewish educational establishment is needed, aimed at placing school
libraries among the mix of educational services that are taken for granted
to be non-expendable. A film about Jewish libraries, with a strong section
on school library service, and their benefits should be sponsored by AJL and
distributed to schools, bureaus, and federations, accompanied by a
discussion manual and some prior training for the persons showing the films
to groups.
A second remedy is for AJL to either conduct its own
research into Jewish
school library effectiveness (by raising the funds that would enable it to
retain a researcher recognized by the Jewish community) or to pursuade one
of the above mentioned organizations to conduct, publish, and disseminate
it. And to publish an article about Jewish libraries every now and then in
their journals. (AJL members need to start writing, taking photos, and
submitting them to Jewish journals.)
A third remedy would be for AJL's leaders to step up, speaking out and
being spokespersons for Jewish libraries, getting appointed to the boards of
Jewish communal agencies, speaking at conferences, establishing measurable
goals toward obtaining support for Jewish libraries, reporting several times
a year to the membership on their activities (What ever happened to that
task force on advocacy that was supposedly created earlier this year? Who
are its members? What is it doing?), and developing a clear set of
strategies for professors of education, school librarians, AJL's own
scholars, and other members to implement as the need/opportunity arises.
Like AASL, AJL can deplore the situation and wring its
hands. Or it can
re-invent itself as an activist organization that responds, and inspires its
members to respond, to the threats and opportunities that confront Jewish
libraries. For an all-volunteer group, this is a big order but I believe it
can and must be done.
Linda R. Silver
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)
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