My open letter to LEXIS Law Publishing generated quite a number of
responses. As I read them, I was amazed, outraged and saddened. The
letters revealed just how much we law librarians have been pushed around,
bullied and harassed by the accounts receivable departments of the law
publishers in complying to their unreasonable demands. I even started to
wonder whether we should shoulder some of the blame ourselves for the way
we are being treated. Obviously publishers have no reason to improve
their inefficient operations or to care about law librarians when for
years, we law librarians have been willing to go the extra miles (and
miles, and miles) for them. What should be considered as a good will
gesture results in our being taken advantage of. To the law publishers
it is a given that the law librarians will and should do the extra work
for them. It is the exception rather than the rule if someone does not
comply. Hence, if you do not do what I ask you to do, we put your account
on hold. We will defame your reputation by telling your boss the untruth
that you are having personal problems which are affecting your work.
Maybe Vinnie is the best employee at LEXIS/Michie because she can be
nasty, threatening and bully the law librarians into submission. She
achieves her goals. LEXIS/Michie gets what it wants. Law librarians keep
on "cooperating". To the law publishers, everything works fine. Doesn't
it? From the standpoint of law publishers, why overhaul operations when
they function perfectly well? Just hire a few more nasty employees. My
questions are: Is our time so worthless? In aggregate, how much time have
we spent on "cooperating" with the publishers? Is it our obligation to
spend extra time repeatedly in order to resolve someone else's problems?
The letters clearly demonstrate that accounts receivable operations of
some publishers have been an on-going problem to law librarians for some
time. Is it time that CRIV and even AALL do something about it?
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Nov 14 2007 - 20:49:54 PST