SaveOurLibraries.org used to be the domain for the Save America’s Libraries campaign that now has this little page with a crap URL on the ALA site. Now there’s another site at SaveOurLibraries.com that addresses some of the recent issues surrounding the San Francisco Public Library. I see the unlinked acronym RFID there, I’m interested to see where this goes.
Category: libcrisis
Providence Library becoming “popular” with mass staff layoffs
Providence Public Library lays off workers, gives admins big raises.
uring the week of May 24th, the administration of the Providence Public Library announced to the staff that because of financial trouble they would be forced to lay off over 60 people. This would include the entire unionized custodial staff whose jobs would be outsourced to non-union labor. Forty more would be cut from Central and 10-15 from the branches.
what is wrong with uk [and other] libraries?
How are UK libraries failing users? A new study entitled “Who’s in Charge?” by charity group Libri proposes some questions, and some answers. Long document, but worth a read.
“Performance management is poor and planning is disconnected from the preparation of budgets. The extent and nature of the problems are such that the heads of library services do not have the authority to act and resolve them. Because costs in other areas are difficult to reduce,whenever savings are needed it is the book budget along with opening hours and buildings maintenance which bear the brunt of cuts. Alternatively, library closures are proposed, even though these measures inevitably result in a reduction in service to the public.Cost control is not directed so as to improve or maintain the service,but rather to avoid making difficult decisions with which public servants feel it unfair to task their staff.” [thanks all]
yes THAT Heinz
The headline Heinz Museum cuts employees due to budget cuts deftly skips over the fact that most of those employees were library and archive staff.
Reducing library hours… makes sense because the number of authors, researchers, genealogists and students using the library is not growing. The number of people using the library’s collections and images online has increased, he said. [thanks barbara]
more libraries in trouble – Hawai’i’s new director
New State Library director in Hawai’i struggles with not enough staff and not enough money. [thanks brandon]