Outsourcing Libraries

There are so many things wrong with this. For one, the math sucks. You look at the AP Story and think, oh, they cut library hours by 40 percent and they cut benefits by a lot and they cut staff by a third and they cut salaries by who knows how much, and they say they're saving money. Of course, they save money. But you lose professional positions and you create a publicly funded bookstore.

Back in Oregon, Jim Olney, director of the Jackson County Library Foundation, considers himself a union supporter, but said: "Look, if it is either close the libraries or outsource them, we'd rather have outsourcing. Sometimes you have to go for the difficult choice because there is no easy choice."

Which I think is bullshit. Any library system can cut hours and remain open without destroying the role of the professional librarian. It just depends on what your government leaders value.

Outsourced libraries are not public libraries.

Hell, if I wanted to save everybody money, I'd fire all but two librarians per branch and hire some paraprofessionals to help with the microfilm and magazines and discharging books. I'd outsource acquisitions and cataloging. I'd eliminate ILL and reduce the courier system to one visit per branch per week. Patrons can wait another week to get Borat. I'd cut library hours to 10 to 5 on Weekdays and 10 to 2 on Saturdays. Telephone and online reference will be open four hours a week. I'd eliminate almost all library programs.

But the libraries would be open and they'd be cheap to run, and I would get to keep a big chunk of change.

But I believe in public libraries. It might sound stupid, but a society needs a strong public library system to remain healthy. There are so many services we provide that shouldn't be reduced to dollars and cents. Public libraries should be an obligation like clean water or safe roads or schools.

It's a shame, some people don't get it.