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On Thu, 2004-01-01 at 15:47, Neil Williams wrote:
Generally, this method is far less effective than individual letters (snail mail, printed, letters). Mainly because it's obvious that the email has been generated automatically. (If you don't care enough to write your own letter, why should they care enough to read your automated complaint/proposal?) If someone receives a petition of signatures, it means a lot less than half the number of individual letters.
IMHO, email is a weak medium for such campaigns because it is very difficult to make a bulk email not look like spam. (If it wasn't so difficult, spammers would be the only winners.)
Cornwall Library at least has a well defined process for comments/complaints. I've moved out of the area and no longer have the details but the local librarians proved helpful (and very sympathetic) when I wanted to complain about the appalling web filtering system that is in place (try using a library terminal to research censorware). I would certainly recommend approaching your local librarian as a first port of call, librarians have their own values with regards to information and openness and you might just find a sympathetic audience who can suggest the best way forward. Its over twenty years since I did any work in Libraries (I used to be a volunteer librarian once upon a time) back when some of them were still using card indexes (and I am glad I learned how to use them). But even then Librarians were struggling with funding levels that meant stock was leaving the system through depreciation faster than in could be replaced. Needless to say the situation hasn't improved in the intervening period. What I do seem to remember is that they were open to the possibility of receiving donations if they were in the right format and were given without obvious political bias and in a way that meshed with system. As to the former, it seems that a lot of the groundwork has been already done, but there is, I feel, a case for doing this on a coordinated, national basis, rather than piecemeal. As to the latter its worth remembering that a Librarian's raison d'etre is to make information freely available, at no cost, so perhaps our two cultures, to arrogate a phrase, might make natural bedfellows. Asking politely will certainly do no harm, as long you remember, like most people are overworked and underpaid. Paul M -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.