Firm’s Library Book Privileges Revoked

The state has decided to kill an unprecedented contract that allowed a private company to choose all the books for Hawaii’s 49 public libraries. State Librarian Bart Kane had devised the deal in a bid to save money. The five-year, $11-million contract with Baker & Taylor Inc. of North Carolina was to run until the year 2001 but set off an uproar among librarians and the public. The company was faulted for shipping inappropriate, cheap and duplicative books, and far fewer items than required. Libraries elsewhere use private vendors for functions such as cataloging or book supply, but none had ever handed off complete control of book selection.