Library of Congress Guild Opposes Reduction of Services
Monday, April 7, 2014
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The Library of Congress Professional Guild
(AFSCME Local 2910) last month
called on the Librarian of Congress to stop the
planned merger and reduction of
specialized reference collections and services
and to keep the LOC's Science
and Business Reading Room (right)
open. The Library’s plan to consolidate
collections and
services “will result in the homogenization
of reference service and
diminishment of the subject expertise which has
been a hallmark of the Library
for decades,” Guild President Saul
Schniderman warned. “The Library of Congress
is in the midst of a great transition, the
outcome of which is far from clear,”
Schniderman told a House Subcommittee. “We
hail Dr. Billington’s digital
initiatives which many of our members are
working hard to implement. But in
2014 and beyond, it is the consensus of
reference librarians that closing
reading rooms will degrade reference service
and ultimately undermine the
mission of the Library of Congress. Please
listen to the Library’s veteran
knowledge navigators." Click
here to read the complete statement and
resolution.