The OpEd in the Boston Globe is an excellent example of how librarians seem
to publish in mass media outlets thus reaching the general public on
recordkeeping agendas and awareness. And in many ways, the very same arguments could be
applied to archives and records organizations.  I hear a lot about budget and
personnel cuts in these organizations.

Librarians as a profession have traditionally been much more the activists
and outspoken in public and various legislative lobbying efforts in support of
libraries and the library profession -- despite the meek image projected upon
them. Archivists and records managers, on the other hand, for the large part
seem to confine their commentaries on subjects of vital importance to all of us,
and indeed to society at large, to one another in discussion groups like
venerable one.

Dan has a very important message. It needs to be spoken beyond this list. I
propose a professional New Year's Resolution this year for all of us: to make
personal efforts to get our issues that have an important public context onto
the OpEd pages and in other public venues. It doesn't have to be the New York
or LA Times, Washington Post or Boston Globe or CNN to have a beneficial
effect. We just have to try harder than we have thus far.

Regards,

Rick Barry
www.mybestdocs.com

In a message dated 1/7/2005 12:02:22 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Date:    Thu, 6 Jan 2005 00:29:12 -0500
From:    Don Saklad <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: By Carol Brey-Casiano and Bernard A. Margolis. January 5,
         2005 Editorial/Opinion Boston Globe > Opinion > Op-Ed

Regarding
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/01/05/do
nt_close_the_book_on_libraries/
          > By Carol Brey-Casiano and Bernard A. Margolis.
          > January 5, 2005
          > Boston Globe > Opinion > Op-Ed
          > Editorial/Opinion

Not withstanding freedom of information, open meeting sunshine
principles and open government principles our Boston Public Library
Government Documents Department fails to make available many city
public documents.

Access is too limited to the public documents and grey literature of
Boston City Hall Departments
Boston City Council
Boston City Council Human Rights Committee
the other Boston City Council Committees
Boston City Clerk documents

even access is too limited to the public documents and
grey literature of the city department of public libraries.

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