Column: Library supporters check out Upland meeting

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Wednesday’s column (read it here) is about Monday’s Upland council meeting, at which the idea of outsourcing library operations was briefly discussed. Naturally, with a light agenda, I bring up all sorts of side issues.

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  • Stupid Happy Idiot

    This played out less than a month ago:
    Pomona rejects outsourcing of library management
    http://goo.gl/Axq0W
    Created: 03/20/2012 11:23:11 AM PDT

    From your article:
    “Just don’t staff the library with work-release inmates.”

    Hey, maybe it’s a good way to rehabilitate former Upland city officials.

    [You're right, I may have spoken too soon. -- DA]

  • John Clifford

    If you think about it, the ONLY place a private company can save money here is by firing all the employees and hiring cheaper ones. That means getting people without degrees and without giving them any benefits. This is what is called “Union Busting.”

    While officials deny that it’s saving money on the backs of the employees, that’s exactly what it is.

    In Pomona, the LSSI proposal was to fire all the employees (of course they always say that current employees will have the “opportunity” to reapply–ha, ha) and replace them. They proposed going from 6 staff with Masters of Library Science, down to 2. So what you end up with is a library open more hours, with more books, but staffed by unqualified people.

    Since the city still owns the library all the costs of maintenance and facilities was still on the taxpayers’ backs, but LSSI is able to make a profit.

    In this instance, Pomona was able to figure it all out. I hope the best for the people of Upland.

    [To be fair, a library that is "open more hours, with more books, but staffed by unqualified people" might be a tradeoff the average person would accept. -- DA]

  • John Clifford

    David,

    Do you use this logic when you take your car to a mechanic? Is this how you pick a lawyer? Is this how you pick a plumber?

    Just questions.

    [I don't know that I would use that logic with a library, but if you're making an "expertise" argument versus "price and convenience," you know as well as I do the typical American's answer to that equation! -- DA]

  • John Clifford

    OK, I’ll give you that one. Just sayin’ tho.