Letter from the Flat World Library Corporation
Head for the Edge, Library Media Connection,March 2006
A couple years ago, Linda, the Left Overshoe Middle School SLMS, read Thomas Friedman’s book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Farrar, 2005). She felt sorry for the legal researchers, medical technicians, and technology support personnel whose jobs were being outsourced to countries like India and China.
When Robert, the high school SLMS, learned that a local business had closed its library and contracted its research to a private research firm, he thought it made good business sense.
Louise noticed an increasingly larger percent of her elementary budget was going to electronic resources, most of which were “packages” tied to her state’s standards. Her teachers didn’t seem to need as much help finding support materials for their units. She was glad to have the extra time.
All the SLMs in the Left Overshoe schools encouraged their students to use a 24/7 electronic reference service, similar to AskUsNow <www.askusnow.info/about/> because it worked so well with the district’s one-to-one computer to student laptop initiative.
But Linda, Robert and Louise met frantically one afternoon after school at the local pub to discuss a photocopy of a letter each of them received, along with a note from the superintendent. It read:
______________________________________
Flat World Library Corporation
March 15, 2011
Superintendent Dennis Hookworm
Left Overshoe Public Schools
Left Overshoe, MN 56034
Dear Superintendent Hookworm:
We at the Flat World Library Corporation can offer you a complete library program at a very attractive price.
For considerably less than you currently pay for your K-12 library program, we can provide a full range of library resources AND library services – all on line.
For only pennies a day per student, FWLC will:
Just think of the advantages:
Please read the attached study (scientifically-based and conducted by FWLC’s very own research department) that empirically demonstrates that this product can dramatically improve student performance where it counts - on high stakes tests. (FWLC has been approved by for Federal Title and grant funding – unlike traditional library materials and librarians.)
Act today!
Coming soon – special pricing for regional and statewide purchases.
Sincerely,
Bill Baudrate, CEO
Flat World Library Corporation
300 Gates Drive
Greenmond WA
1-800-NO-BOOKS
The penciled note at the bottom from the superintendent read simply: “Why should I not buy this product?”