Too clever by half? White's words of warning are still relevant.(editorial)(Editorial)

WHENEVER I READ ABOUT LIBRARIES BEING THE best government for the least money, I mentally applaud. How clever and creative librarians are at making those dollars stretch to deliver all the service they do. Every once in a while, however, I'm reminded of Herb White's cautionary tales in LJ.

His message had many variations, but at its most basic went like this: if librarians continue to do more with less--as budgets go up only slightly, remain the same, or are cut--and accept low salaries, they give funders no incentive to improve either library budgets or salaries. Indeed, their actions provoke just the opposite response, and librarians have no one to blame for future …