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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 21, 2004 Teen collection librarian Anne Guevarra looks over some donated CDs that have yet to be catalogued into the system. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli CD windfall will benefit libraries Settlement in national price-fixing case has attorneys general in 43 states sorting through music discs for distribution to the public By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune A couple thousand free music CDs are coming soon to Jackson County’s libraries thanks to a $142 million nationwide court settlement on CD price fixing. Local librarians hope the selection — 2,401 CDs — is better than what libraries in other states have been getting: too many copies of stuff no one wants to check out. Anne Guevara, a Young Adult Services librarian and the person who chooses CDs for Jackson County Library Services, said local libraries will add the free CDs to their shelves over the next several months. Attorneys general of 43 states and territories, including Oregon, settled a lawsuit in 2001 with five music distributors and three retailers. The states accused the companies of entering into illegal rackets to increase record prices and reduce competition among retailers. Part of the settlement included sending about 5.5 million music CDs to libraries. Oregon’s batch will be distributed in the next month or so by the state attorney general’s office, and local librarians will organize Jackson County’s share for patron use later in the year. Advertisement Jan Margosian, spokeswoman for Attorney General Hardy Myers, said they’ve learned from other states’ mistakes: disappointed librarians finding multiple copies of obscure titles. "We’re being very careful," said Margosian. "We want to make sure that we get the best selection we can." That’s why they’re still working on it, she said. "We’re working very hard on a good distribution." State Librarian Jim Scheppke said he’s heard about examples, such as 21 copies of the "Gregorian Chants" CD arriving at a Boston library, or titles that don’t fit the community’s needs. "The state library’s tried to work hard on this for the past year," he said. "We’re hoping for a better outcome than some of the other states I’ve heard about." He said he’s been working with the attorney general’s office and libraries to set up a swap system in case librarians don’t like what arrives. "Our plan is that all the public libraries will send back titles that they don’t want on their shelves," he said. "Obviously if the Jackson County Library gets 30 copies of Whitney Houston’s ‘Star Spangled Banner’ that’s not going to be a benefit to Jackson County. "Schools, by the way, are getting some, too, but most of ours are going to public libraries in our state." But local librarians hope there is some duplication. "For us, if they send us five or six copies of one title ... I’d be happy," said Guevara. "I don’t know that we necessarily need 22 copies of something." She said library staff requested music from other countries as well as Christmas and wedding music to help fill out the existing collection. Guevara said cataloging the CDs will take time, so patrons shouldn’t expect anything on the shelves before Christmas. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers