Over the weekend I wrote about the threat to small and independent publishers from proposed postal rate hikes, which if not challenged will go into effect July 15, forcing subscription hikes and possibly causing some publications to fold.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times published an editorial co-authored by Teresa Stack, president of The Nation, and Jack Fowler, publisher of The National Review, in which they wrote,
Our respective magazines — the Nation and the National Review — sit on opposite ends of the political spectrum and disagree on nearly every issue. But we concur on this: These proposed postal rate hikes are deeply unfair.
You can bet your last p-slip that when the gingham dog and the calico cat agree on an issue, it’s important. Please take time now to contact your local and national representatives — elective and library association. This is a core intellectual freedom issue, directly related to the right to read.
Posted on this day, other years:
- Upselling yourself - 2008
- Oh Really, O'Reilly? - 2006
- Who Stole Summer? - 2005
- Wikipedia - 2005
Apparently different, but related, is media mail rate increases of up to 33% or more for small packages, which imperil Prison Book Program organizations. A (regrettably) fairly small sector, but an important one whose participants generally exist on a shoestring, and one that has I have a personal connection to.
Sending free books to people in prison is a mission clearly in line with and likely to be of interest to librarians.
Jonathan, thank you for that information about the impact of the proposed rates on the media mail rate (which someone else has pointed out will also affect interlibrary loan). That rate is no give-away to begin with, and a 33% hike is steep. I have heard from one ALA honcho so far and will raise this when I hear back from those that I contacted.
Progressive Secretary just hopped on this bandwagon. Easy way to get appropriate emails sent on this issue, even for those who don’t belong to ProgSec.
Thanks, Dorothea!
[…] the Disney copyright ruling of 2003, the launch of the Google Library Project in 2004, and in 2007, the Time-Warnerized ruling on postal rates, favoring huge publishers over the rank and file. […]