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Hernando Today

County To Explore Privatizing Libraries

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By MICHAEL D. BATES

Hernando Today

Published: March 18, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - With the county facing a projected $10 million in lost revenue next year, any and all ideas to produce money are on the table.
Including privatizing the county's library system.
County Administrator David Hamilton said that particular option will go before the members of the budget and finance committee when it meets April 7.
Hamilton said outsourcing public library services to a private company could save the county $500,000 in operational costs without reducing services.
"It's a promising assertion but it needs to be vetted through the full committee," Hamilton said.
The county budgeted $2.56 million for library services for fiscal year 2009.
Library systems across the state are in the cross-hairs of the budget gun. To reduce costs, Hernando County last year slashed hours in its branches, cut $800,000 in funding and reduced staff.
Pasco County recently announced it would close libraries altogether on Mondays.
So what would privatization of the Hernando County library system mean?
It would likely mean Hernando County would bid out the library contract to public and private bidders.
The county would contract for a specified amount of time with the successful bidder to run all four library branches.
Existing library employees would come off the county payroll and go under the benefits and salary plan of the private employer.
It could also mean, depending on the firm's financial assets, tweaked library hours or resources for patrons.
County Commissioner Rose Rocco said she plans to move cautiously on privatization until more facts are known, especially how it would affect patron services and library employees' jobs.
Also to be considered is whether the county would lose grant money and other state funding sources by maintaining a library system.
"I don't think this is something we need to do with a knee-jerk reaction," Rocco said.
The Florida Library Association took a stance against privatizing public libraries 10 years ago and that position remains unchanged.
"We don't believe that a for-profit organization is the best form of governance," said Faye Roberts, executive director for the association.
Roberts said she has learned that private vendors have approached several state library systems to gain business.
But to her knowledge, no library in Florida has been privatized.
Maryland-based Library Systems and Services LLC (LSSI) is one of the largest such outsourcing companies and currently manages 14 public library systems and 64 branch operations in the nation.
In a position paper, the American Library Association said publically funded libraries "should remain directly accountable to the (public) they serve" and "opposes the shifting of policy making and management oversight of library services from the public to the private, for-profit sector.
Interviewed Wednesday, ALA President Jim Rettig said libraries should be publically funded and operated by people "who know the community, are loyal to their community and know what services the community needs."
In a down economy, libraries are usually one of the first casualties of the budget ax when it comes to cutting staff and services, Rettig said.
But on the flip side, libraries are often the first place unemployed people go to access computers and conduct job searches.
The growing numbers of library patrons are finding it's cheaper to check out books and videos, he said.
"People are discovering the value of their library card," Rettig said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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