ASSOCIATES (2005, March, v. 11, no. 3) - associates.ucr.edu
*From the Editor*
Welcome Associates Subscribers! Both NEW and RESUBSCRIBERS. Ouch! Actually the word "resubscribe" still causes me serious pangs of agony. As you may know, Associates went from over 3,000 world-wide subscribers to zero in a heartbeat in February 2005. By word-of-mouth, library-interest listserv postings, and a determined and continuing letter writing campaign from me, the subscribers list has been rebuilt to almost 1/3 of our previous total in one month's effort. I am delighted with the additional bonus of new subscribers.
Associates welcomes all interested subscribers and contributors without regard to job titles, with the focus on and for library support staff. When the subscription disaster occurred, I became committed to writing to library staff world-wide to personally ask each person to subscribe or resubscribe. The expression "biting off more than you can chew" comes to mind with this vow. I rely on an important website called "The WWW Library Directory" <http://www.webpan.com/msauers/libdir/> that currently lists 8,883 world-wide library sites, created by Michael P. Sauers, University of Denver. (I encourage you to look at the site, explore its offerings, and see if your library is listed with the correct link.) I have personally sent out over 5,000 letters addressed primarily to library support staff and am overwhelmed with the encouragement and interest shown for Associates. I intend to continue my subscription invitation campaign during this year--but there are so many libraries and so little time!
The current issue has six articles about library support staff associations outside the United States. (The November 2004 issue had several articles about U.S. library support staff associations.) JIM JACKSON speaks about certification of library assistants in the United Kingdom; JEAN UYS and NONDUMISO SINYENYEKO share background, concerns, and activities of the Support Staff Interest Group in South Africa. SYLVIA SKENE organized Canadian library technicians and assistants to submit articles about their activities: KRISTINE SHUM relates her experience in conducting a library salary survey; DIANE WALKER discusses methods to strengthen contact among provincial library technician organizations in Canada; EMMA WOOD writes about working on a comprehensive listing of Canadian library technician programs; CAROL FOWLER tells about the Library Technicians' and Assistants' Interest Group online discussion group centered in British Columbia.
LYDIA COLLINS, California State University, Stanislaus, writes about how increases in workload in libraries affects staff at all levels, particularly library assistants, library technicians, and library trainees, and the lack of recognition. CAROL BORZYSKOWSKI, in her regular column "View From The Backroom," relays her experience and view regarding Circulation desk staff answering reference questions instead of sending the patrons on to the reference desk. TINKER MASSEY returns with "Rainbow's End." TINKER also has an article that provides results of her research on circulation statistics for books with and without book jackets. If you watch movies you'll want to read the website review by MICHAEL BROOKS. Then, KATIE BULLER KINTNER takes a break to describe work life outside the library setting. BESSIE MAYES accepted my challenge to write the Guest Editorial. She provides an outstanding, thoughtful piece on September 11 and its impact on libraries. An excellent issue!
Happy Reading!
Wendee Eyler
Editor, Associates
rivwe@ucr.edu