Canada: U of Manitoba, Union Disagree Strongly on Library Staff Cuts
From the Winnipeg Free Press:
Association of Employees Supporting Education Services (AESES) president Laurie R. Morris told union members that the U of M has made “drastic cuts” worth more than $2 million in salaries.
University libraries alone have lost more than 25 per cent of their staff, Morris told union members in an internal email supplied to The Free Press by numerous sources.
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Public affairs executive director John Danakas said Friday that the overall reduction is just 3.7 full-time equivalent positions.
[University President David] Barnard said that there have been significant changes to university libraries. When he was a student, everything was stacked on shelves, and if he needed a book not available, he’d have to wait for an inter-library transfer.
Now, “It’s possible for a student sitting with a laptop” to access almost instantly information which no longer requires the assistance and expertise of a librarian.
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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