SwiftVets.com

[JK]

I donated one copy of Unfit to Command to my library, 20 people have requested to read it. The library now has additional copies of the book ordered but the book is on back order. Publisher only had an initial run of 40,000 copies while about 550,00 copies of now been sold to date!!!! A librarian checked other libraries in central NJ and found that no other library had Unfit for Command... suggest all vets contact their libraries to determine if the library ordered, # of copies, and when book(s) will arrive, for those libraries who have not ordered kindly keep their feet to the fire and have them order the book ASAP, Nov 2 is getting closer and I expect Kerry will take whatever action at the transportation level, book distributor level, chain and local bookstores to slow the sale down of the book.

Also don't forget to donate your book when read to your local VA hospital so our fellow veterans have a voice.

JK

[dagwood]

Public librarians get budget money from your propert taxes. Public librarians are "gate keepers of information" to the general public. Check the holdings of your local public library for their holdings of Unfit for Command. Most US libraries catalogs are online.

a. As a taxpayer you have every right to insist that this title be purchased in multiple copies since it is on the NYT bestseller list. Public libraries use this list as one of the gold standards for making sure that their collections are timely and "demand" titles are in their collections

b. If the book is on order, ensure that it it be cataloged as a "high prority"item by placing a reserve on the title - a patron reserve will trigger priority cataloguing and processing of the title.

c. Also, do not let yourself be "faked" out by your local library. Make sure that the library has MULTIPLE copies ordered for ALL BRANCHES in the system, and not just token copies destined for small hole in the wall branches with limited public exposure-if the taxpayers don't see the title on their branch's shelves, the book does not exist in their minds.

d. If you get a run around from the local reference librarian, call the City Librarian and remind her[usually it's a her] that the public library's mandate is to offer a BALANCED COLLECTION with opposing viewpoints and that if they can spend taxpayer $ on 70 anti-GWB books as my little town library with a population of 25,000 people has done, then they can bloody well RUSH order 3 or 4 copies of an opposing viewpoint on presidential candidate John Kerry for a balanced collection before the Presidential election. Be sure to use the words "censorship" and "intellectual freedom" as hot buttons to get some fires lit under their skirts.

e. Some libraries are known to buy hot bestsellers from a local Sam's or a local Cosco if they are under the gun to get a title in fast. Suggest this as a possibility to avoid the long wait of ordering thru a library jobber 2000 miles away.

e. If you sense passive resistence from the City Librarian, call the Mayor and tell him that your taxpayer $ is not being spent fairly by the library department and they are CENSORING information to the public due to their personal political leanings. Remind the Mayor that the book is a NYT bestseller and that the library has X number of negative titles on GWB and that a public library has a mandate to provide a balanced collection to the general public for continuing self-development. That should get action.

Good luck. This election will be decided by 10% of undecided sitting on the fence voters. It's not enough that we buy our own copies of the title. We need to ensure that the undecided voter gets access to the title every which way possible and public libraries still remain "the last retreat of the individual." Postscript: our taxes also support the budgets of our state universities and junior colleges. Check their library holdings of Unfit for Command and follow similar "activism" steps as for public libraries for fair and balanced collections and no censorship allowed on the taxpayer's dime blah, blah