As an LIS student, I rely on professional library organizations for information for papers and online discussions. So, I was quite annoyed to find, for the 2nd time this month, a library organization has taken formerly free information on their website and moved it to a (paid) members-only section.
Hello? I thought:
library = free = access to information
Right?
I mean, I'm willing to pay for a hard copy. I realize these documents take money and effort (albiet from VOLUNTEERS) to produce. But, get with the 21st century already and throw up a free pdf on your site. Actually, in these cases, KEEP the free pdf that you ALREADY HAD (for FREE) on your site for months (or YEARS). Why move it to a member-restricted section of your site NOW? (i.e., A few weeks before the end of MY semester?!)
ALA, NJASL? You know what documents I'm referring to. I'll be waiting for your reply while I find a friend to email me a copy she wisely downloaded before you went all Amazon on me.
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3 comments:
As a long time member of both organizations I find your comments offensive. If you are so dependent on these organizations for information, why do you choose not to join them? There are student discounts in both ALA and NJASL. If you, and others, do not support your professional organizations they will not remain in the position to support you or the longevity of your chosen profession.
It is kind of like receiving government services...when taxes stop being collected, services stop being given.
Offensive? Really? I don't know. I tend to agree. I'm a member of these organizations, and I don't object to promoting them through the exchange of information and ideas. This is a student blog. Let her complain. The information was originally freely available online. Why move it to a members only section?
Hi and thanks for the comments. This is an old post, but I'm sure it wasn't my intention to offend anyone.
While I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with the tone of my original rant (ah, sweet hindsight), part of me still wonders why/how organizations decide to move publications to member areas of their sites. The NJASL document I was upset about losing access to is similar to ones that are freely available online from other state school library organizations, describing their guidelines, goals and philosophy for school library media programs. We were posting links and comparing these documents in an online class, only to find NJ's document suddenly unavailable to us.
In my defense, as a student, I had tried to join ALA/NJASL using a joint discount form for students, only to be told that the offer had expired. I am now a full member of both organizations, will be attending my first conferences, and hope to find ways (and time) to volunteer and advocate for them and for my chosen profession. And, hopefully, I will be able to do so without offending anyone, or taking offense at anyone else's opinion or (in)experience.
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