Laura Murray is an Associate Professor in the English Department of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and creator of the website www.faircopyright.ca.
Samuel Trosow is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. He is jointly appointed in the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies.
Librarians and Archivists at the University of Western Ontario are in a struggle to preserve their professional autonomy. They remain steadfast in the face of repeated attempts by an employer determined to de-professionalize their work. This is an employer that refuses to agree to transparent and equitable standards of job performance. The Globe and Mail ranks Western's librarians and archivists tops among Canadian universities, yet they remain the worst paid academic librarians and archivists in the country.
So, what can you do to help support Western's Librarians and Archivists? Here are some ideas:
1. URGENT!!! TARGETED EMAIL CAMPAIGN ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. We plan to flood the president's office with email messages during a coordinated three-hour window tomorrow, FRIDAY, between 12:00 and 3:00 pm. If everyone in this group sends an email to the president at the same time, we will send a strong collective message to the administration. Even if you've already sent an email of support, please send another. In the event that his email inbox gets too full and your message bounces back, keep trying to send it (even if you end up connecting after the 12:00 - 3:00 window).
**It is very important that your message is courteous and polite. You can write your own message, or simply use the template below. AMIT CHAKMA's EMAIL:
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Dear Dr. Chakma,
Western's Librarians and Archivists deserve a fair and equitable collective agreement. I urge you to make this a reality by recognizing their professional work, expertise and commitment. They deserve better job security, clear and transparent job evaluations and better pay. The Globe and Mail ranks Western's librarians and archivists tops among Canadian universities, yet they remain the worst paid academic librarians and archivists in the country. You can help change that.
Sincerely,
2. INVITE PEOPLE TO JOIN THIS GROUP. Please invite other supporters to join this group. We would like to see a critical mass of support from Western students, staff, and faculty, but also from Londoners, other faculty associations, unions, librarians, and universities across the country. Spread the word to everyone you know!!!
3. FACEBOOK PROFILE PIC. Change your facebook profile photo to the "Support Western Librarians and Archivists" poster or the "I HEART Librarians and Archivists" button logo. Simply click on the image at the top of this page and "copy," or (if you use a Mac) drag it onto your desktop. Then upload the photo on your facebook profile.
4. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDTIOR. Write a letter to our local newspapers in support of the Librarians and Archivists. The Western Gazette (student newspaper): ONLINE FORM OR EMAIL http://www.facebook.com/l/f6746;westerngazette.ca/contact/ The Western News (university newspaper): EMAIL
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London Free Press (150 words max): EMAIL
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The Londoner: ONLINE FORM
I am an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS).
Before coming to Western, I was a law librarian at the Boalt Hall Law Library at the University of California at Berkeley and before that I was in private law practice in California. My doctoral work in the Department of Information Studies at UCLA focused on information policy issues.
At FIMS I have taught courses in Information Policy, Perspectives in Library and Information Science, the Political Economy of Information, Legal Issues for Information Professionals, and in Winter 2010 I will be offering a new course called Copyright, Creativity, Technology and the Music Industry. In the law school I have taught courses in Intellectual Property and Information law as well as the graduate Legal Theory seminar and Urban Law. This coming year I will be teaching International IP and Comparative Copyright.
