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The Executioner's Song - What the Privatization of Public Libraries might hold - By Thomas McKinney Santa Clarita on a map. By Tom McKinney I recently read an article on the front page of the New York Times about a public library being turned over to a private company for management. This is my reaction. The concept of the library dates back virtually to the creation of writing; modern libraries to post-Gutenberg. They have been around a long, long time. In modern times, public libraries have taken a place in society as a wholesome, intellectual and safe place for research, study and really anything that doesn't make much noise. They continue to offer these comforts for those who seek them, but many of their resources are now available either through the libraries' own websites, or elsewhere on the web. In an age where celebrity drug relapses are considered breaking news, and Martha Stewart is an ex-con, we may have lost a level of that wholesomeness (and intellect I might add) I associate with respectability. Over the last few decades, libraries have seen a dramatic decline. It's only been further exacerbated by the boom of the Internet since 1995, the refinement of the consumer's Internet experience via Web 2.0+ developments, and sophisticated research software combined with databases. Each new generation that is born into this digital age is developing a sense of what the Internet is capable of; notably instant access from anywhere. It's the difference between a student doing research from the comfort of their dorm and taking the time to walk or bus to the library and potentially access different resources. One of them involves maybe an hour or more roundtrip and the cost of transportation while the other is literally at their fingertips. Right now, people with iPads are literally only limited by their cellular reception (assuming they ponied up for the more expensive wireless-3G-capable version). The library is nice, but a sunny day in the park makes a hard case. Libraries are now in a difficult transition stage. They are of emotional importance to many, and remain important Internet access points for people who don't have personal access themselves. They are a part of our culture. They are not cheap, and have been historically funded by the community attached to it. Even before the current economic downturn, libraries were struggling, and now, cities across America are turning to a private company to take over the management of their libraries. Typically outsourcing implies things are desperate. As my father explains it to me, businesses used to (around the 1950's) be a more personal concept. People could expect a lifetime of work at one company if they were effective. Promotions were often related to the amount of time spent there. Things have changed, a lot. Function and cost are the names of the game, and younger minds are typically sharper while expecting a smaller salary. Loyalty appears to have been pushed out. Or maybe the Golden Age of America just ended. The city of Santa Clarita, CA recently hired Library Systems & Services to take over their public library. This is the first instance where the company has taken over a library in a city that was not in deep financial trouble, and it has been met with stiff resistance from the library staff, and even more so from some of its members. What is really going on here is the removal of loyalty from a system that never joined the business model by staying publicly funded. In hospitals, transcriptionists used to be an in-house service requiring employees paid for by the hospital. Now, it is outsourced, and the new management company handles the firing of the existing employees, offering back the same job minus earned benefits and/or lower pay. The hospitals in this way relieved themselves of apparent corporate guilt, while achieving their overall end - lower costs. Libraries are no different. The city of Santa Clarita couldn't fire the employees they hired and promised pensions to. So instead Library Systems & Services did it, offering them back their same jobs minus pensions.
The Executioner's Song - What the Privatization of Public Libraries might hold - By Thomas McKinney The Santa Clarita Library. What happens when a private company is in charge? Cost and function are analyzed. Things that aren't getting used get moved to the cheapest location possible; then removed entirely. Senior staff members, feeling they deserve a pay increase for time given, are fired or refused promotions. No one's job is necessarily safe at a certain age. The privatization of libraries feels innately wrong to me, possibly because the idea of turning a library into a business sounds a lot like removing core values from an important cultural concept. Has America gotten so cutthroat that we are going to put libraries in the hands of for-profit companies and let them decide the future of them? Clearly it has as it's already happening. Maybe this is the plan? Towns can't bear the idea of witnessing the end of their libraries, so they bring in someone else to do it for them? That would be more than disgraceful. Library Science was already a declining field, and for librarians, the prospect of being replaced by a younger and cheaper alternative is not a pleasant one. Historically, the library was an emotionally satisfying career choice - and a reliable source of income. It was safe. But between these privatizations and the shift towards digital information, I'd hardly call it that. For the libraries to avoid this executioner's song, they need to evolve. Already, they are adapting, becoming the significant provider of free Internet access. Other than paying a physical visit, many of the sources available in a library are also available online solely through the library system, allowing people access without being there. They've also taken a new role in the childcare system as official childcare is cut back. There are many roles the library fills and can fill that don't involve books. Other possibilities include merging with local historical societies (already been done), or potentially becoming the main source of printed material as digital distribution continues to make strides in the marketplace. Even with the technological world flying at the speed of light, there will still need to be hard copy records and volumes kept. There may not be as many libraries as there are today, but we will still need repositories of information - servers and databases crash, the power goes out - that are consistently accessible and reliable. In this day of Internet and iPod-isolationism, a trip to the library and talking to real people might be just what many caught up in the digital waves really need. I can't think of anything that replaces the experience and personal touch of a veteran librarian, nor the presence of other people in the library. The social aspect of the library seems to have taken a backseat to the rush and bustle of people's every day lives, but at the library you never know who you're going to meet; on the Internet, it's a lot less likely you'd ever meet at all. Libraries are a human concept, separate of business and the motivation of money and more money. By turning it over to that sector, I'm afraid we will lose the inherent humanity that libraries have come to represent. *Update:* reader Don Ricketts was kind enough to write in to let us know that a group known as Save Our Libraries has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to halt the transfer of operation of the library to a private corporation on privacy grounds. We'll have an update in the next issue of AE Monthly.

The Executioner's Song - What the Privatization of Public Libraries might hold

- By Thomas McKinney

Santa Clarita on a map.

By Tom McKinney

I recently read an article on the front page of the New York Times about a public library being turned over to a private company for management. This is my reaction.

The concept of the library dates back virtually to the creation of writing; modern libraries to post-Gutenberg. They have been around a long, long time. In modern times, public libraries have taken a place in society as a wholesome, intellectual and safe place for research, study and really anything that doesn't make much noise. They continue to offer these comforts for those who seek them, but many of their resources are now available either through the libraries' own websites, or elsewhere on the web. In an age where celebrity drug relapses are considered breaking news, and Martha Stewart is an ex-con, we may have lost a level of that wholesomeness (and intellect I might add) I associate with respectability.

Over the last few decades, libraries have seen a dramatic decline. It's only been further exacerbated by the boom of the Internet since 1995, the refinement of the consumer's Internet experience via Web 2.0+ developments, and sophisticated research software combined with databases. Each new generation that is born into this digital age is developing a sense of what the Internet is capable of; notably instant access from anywhere. It's the difference between a student doing research from the comfort of their dorm and taking the time to walk or bus to the library and potentially access different resources. One of them involves maybe an hour or more roundtrip and the cost of transportation while the other is literally at their fingertips. Right now, people with iPads are literally only limited by their cellular reception (assuming they ponied up for the more expensive wireless-3G-capable version). The library is nice, but a sunny day in the park makes a hard case.

Libraries are now in a difficult transition stage. They are of emotional importance to many, and remain important Internet access points for people who don't have personal access themselves. They are a part of our culture. They are not cheap, and have been historically funded by the community attached to it. Even before the current economic downturn, libraries were struggling, and now, cities across America are turning to a private company to take over the management of their libraries. Typically outsourcing implies things are desperate.

As my father explains it to me, businesses used to (around the 1950's) be a more personal concept. People could expect a lifetime of work at one company if they were effective. Promotions were often related to the amount of time spent there. Things have changed, a lot. Function and cost are the names of the game, and younger minds are typically sharper while expecting a smaller salary. Loyalty appears to have been pushed out. Or maybe the Golden Age of America just ended.

The city of Santa Clarita, CA recently hired Library Systems & Services to take over their public library. This is the first instance where the company has taken over a library in a city that was not in deep financial trouble, and it has been met with stiff resistance from the library staff, and even more so from some of its members.

What is really going on here is the removal of loyalty from a system that never joined the business model by staying publicly funded. In hospitals, transcriptionists used to be an in-house service requiring employees paid for by the hospital. Now, it is outsourced, and the new management company handles the firing of the existing employees, offering back the same job minus earned benefits and/or lower pay. The hospitals in this way relieved themselves of apparent corporate guilt, while achieving their overall end - lower costs. Libraries are no different. The city of Santa Clarita couldn't fire the employees they hired and promised pensions to. So instead Library Systems & Services did it, offering them back their same jobs minus pensions.

The Executioner's Song - What the Privatization of Public Libraries might hold

- By Thomas McKinney

The Santa Clarita Library.

What happens when a private company is in charge? Cost and function are analyzed. Things that aren't getting used get moved to the cheapest location possible; then removed entirely. Senior staff members, feeling they deserve a pay increase for time given, are fired or refused promotions. No one's job is necessarily safe at a certain age.

The privatization of libraries feels innately wrong to me, possibly because the idea of turning a library into a business sounds a lot like removing core values from an important cultural concept. Has America gotten so cutthroat that we are going to put libraries in the hands of for-profit companies and let them decide the future of them? Clearly it has as it's already happening. Maybe this is the plan? Towns can't bear the idea of witnessing the end of their libraries, so they bring in someone else to do it for them? That would be more than disgraceful.

Library Science was already a declining field, and for librarians, the prospect of being replaced by a younger and cheaper alternative is not a pleasant one. Historically, the library was an emotionally satisfying career choice - and a reliable source of income. It was safe. But between these privatizations and the shift towards digital information, I'd hardly call it that.

For the libraries to avoid this executioner's song, they need to evolve. Already, they are adapting, becoming the significant provider of free Internet access. Other than paying a physical visit, many of the sources available in a library are also available online solely through the library system, allowing people access without being there. They've also taken a new role in the childcare system as official childcare is cut back. There are many roles the library fills and can fill that don't involve books. Other possibilities include merging with local historical societies (already been done), or potentially becoming the main source of printed material as digital distribution continues to make strides in the marketplace. Even with the technological world flying at the speed of light, there will still need to be hard copy records and volumes kept. There may not be as many libraries as there are today, but we will still need repositories of information - servers and databases crash, the power goes out - that are consistently accessible and reliable.

In this day of Internet and iPod-isolationism, a trip to the library and talking to real people might be just what many caught up in the digital waves really need. I can't think of anything that replaces the experience and personal touch of a veteran librarian, nor the presence of other people in the library. The social aspect of the library seems to have taken a backseat to the rush and bustle of people's every day lives, but at the library you never know who you're going to meet; on the Internet, it's a lot less likely you'd ever meet at all. Libraries are a human concept, separate of business and the motivation of money and more money. By turning it over to that sector, I'm afraid we will lose the inherent humanity that libraries have come to represent.

Update: reader Don Ricketts was kind enough to write in to let us know that a group known as Save Our Libraries has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to halt the transfer of operation of the library to a private corporation on privacy grounds. We'll have an update in the next issue of AE Monthly.