AKC Closes Their Library !!! ???
"A library is a window to the past and a pathway to the future." Sharyn McCrumb
The AKC Library unofficially closed its doors (late 2009) on the eve of celebrating AKC's 125th birthday in 2009 by letting go the last librarian, leaving what is THE premier canine collection in the world to become a library without a "beating heart"....or a mausoleum.
Despite the AKC 125th Grand Celebration that is based entirely on history AND those volumes of books and yes, despite what was a banner year of income for the American Kennel Club in 2009; AKC claims the need to cut costs by closing the library, thereby denying over 150 Parent Breed Clubs a guarantee that their intricately woven tapestry of the essentialness of purebred dog fancy interest will be preserved for the future.
A firestorm of criticism from dog fanciers & readers has erupted into volcanic lava flows swirling & rising amidst AKC hot feet, despite incomplete BOD meeting minutes regarding the star-crossed AKC Dog Library. AKC senior management since have appeared indecisive, often backtracking. Their words have angrily been thrown in their faces & into the New York harbor by outraged canine scholars and Parent Breed Clubs. How incredibly thoughtless to not realize the "real" position AKC has placed themselves as a "purebred dog guardian". AKC never should have underestimated the power of a book or what it's heart "really" means to a dog researcher or fancier.
AKC's position per James Crowley is...
The Library is NOT being closed. It will be available to researchers and to the public just as it has always been. The Library information and catalog continue to appear on the AKC web site, and I will be the contact person given. What has changed is that there will be no full time employee sitting in the library every day. The usage of the Library has steadily declined in recent years, undoubtedly due to information now readily available on the internet in general and the AKC web site in particular. (dlb Note- Wouldn't a real librarian know that the word "Internet" is ALWAYS starts with a capital "I"?)
AKC further laments the lack of foot traffic in its Library, but fails to recognize their lack of accountability for promoting the AKC Dog Library or attempted a survey on the Internet, Telephone & Snail Mail inquiries or noticed & appreciated the heartfelt devotion of its Librarian, Barbara Kolk. Since being fired or let go, depending on which viewpoint, Ms Kolk has been much like Magyar of old, a storied person without a hearth, but a rich heritage for a heart.
Where is the justification for cutting back on Library expenses? AKC has money to support other important public services such as Scholarships, New Art purchases, the Dog Museum and the Canine Health Foundation. Surely the country & world's premier canine library provides no less important public service.
Roberta Pliner addresses the subject of the AKC Dog Library closing as follows...
"The entire collection at AKC is NOT online, as Mr. Crowley contends, nor can a lot of it ever be put online. Some of the library's greatest treasures would be destroyed by scanning them into a computer. No computer, no website can possibly substitute for an old and venerable collection such as that of the AKC library under the guidance and supervision of a professional librarian such as Ms. Kolk. As for assurances that the diminished library services will not affect the AKC's archivist activity, we researchers who use the AKC library are not compensated for losing a much-loved library."
Some comments made by Sharon Damkaer (Cocker Spaniels) who has been a member of the Dog Writers Association of America since 1985 stated in her letter to AKC Board of Directors...
"Some representatives of AKC have answered critics of the cutbacks at the Library saying there is not enough interest in the study of dogs to keep a full-time staff in our Nation's premier canine research library. A strong case for the importance of history was made in the July 2009 issue of the Gazette in an article by Dorothy Macdonald. In the article, Macdonald pointed out that judges need to study the history and background of breeds they will judge. The pull quote with the article said:
No standard, by itself, is sufficient to teach you the breed it describes;
you must first learn from history." Dorothy MacDonald
Over the years, and in Gazettes in my collection prior to the beginning of my own subscription, articles have appeared praising the AKC Library. My favorite such article appeared in the March 1977 issue (pp. 29-37) and included the Library’s history and a bibliography of new books. New acquisitions used to be regularly posted in the Gazette and on the website. It is because of this publicity and the work of Ms. Kolk and librarians before her that many rare and irreplaceable volumes have been donated to the Library. Surely, when people realize there is no longer a knowledgeable full-time librarian on duty, they will look elsewhere to donate their canine historical treasures.
A library is a living thing. To lock it up or eliminate a knowledgeable custodian is to allow its dissolution. It will no longer be the admired centerpiece of the AKC. The current cutbacks of Library service are a poor way to celebrate AKC'S 125th Anniversary."
John Mandeville of Soft Coated Wheaten Fame wrote in DOG NEWS August 7 the following as parts of his News article...
"AKC's decision to kill its librarian is murder of a different sort. I don't suppose anyone at AKC would debate me on: Resolved AKC is financially secure enough to afford its library staff/operation-such that it was. Not only will I take the pro position I'll gladly defend "AKC should expand its library services." AKC says it will still accept donations to ther librarian-less library. Nothing is said about regular acquisitions. What about periodicals- one of the library's best resources? The right viewpoint is, "Should there be a world class library dedicated to everything to do with Canis familiaris?"
A Vizsla IS the most decorated AKC dog with Five Championships, a Quintuple Champion. No one else has one or comes close. According to Mary Chelton, she and the VCA have contacted AKC expressing their displeasure with the AKC Dog Library closing. It is especially disappointing when the Vizsla Club of America will celebrate in 2010 their 50th AKC Anniversary & will do it hobbled by their "chosen" Dog Registry because the AKC unthinkable has happened.
The Vizsla skipped over the other registry FDSB during the fifties to get AKC recognition. Today, everyone who calls American Field offices whether they be in Chicago, IL or Dancyville or Grand Junction, TN reach the most courteous of help and those peoples are first to point with great pride to their library inside The National Bird Dog Museum in western Tennessee as their crowning jewel.
Why can't the AKC see their crowned jewels? They certainly have mimicked many of the ways the FDSB American Field Registry has implemented & accentuated in sporting endeavors. But then, it is difficult to have sportsmanship without a good ship to sail upon.
Dog fanciers from around the world, not just the USA, have the right "to kennel" the AKC Board of Directors for NOT being true guardians of the purebred dog & its worlds.
Please write the below American Kennel Club Board of Directors protesting the closing of the AKC Dog Library to "Appointment Only" AND firing of Barbara Kolk.
clb@akc.org, dansdad@pennswoods.net, kam@akc.org, rodstrand@involved.com, rds@bealenet.com, dunwich@samnet.net, wfg@akc.org, rhm@akc.org, lee.arnold3@gti.net, carlashby@att.net, atkalter@yahoo.com, JXC@akc.org
Please, bring Barbara Kolk back & have her burst the AKC Dog Library doors wide open !!!
