by Rachael Jackson, Sentinel Staff Writer Orlando Sentinel, June 24, 2009
Alongside signs that read "Save Our Libraries," Margie Johnson and about a dozen volunteers are spending this week camped in front of Seminole County libraries, gathering signatures to oppose turning over the libraries to a private company.
The county, which faces a $19 million budget shortfall, doesn't yet know how much could be saved by "outsourcing" the $6.7 million library system, but it's exploring the idea.
"Our democracy is founded on free public information for everyone," Johnson, a member of the county's Library Advisory Board, said as she braved sweltering heat outside the Oviedo branch library, where every parking spot was full Tuesday afternoon.
If a private company were to run Seminole's five libraries, patrons would still be able to check out books, use computers and take advantage of other basic services for free. But people like Johnson, 75, worry that a company would put profits ahead of community needs.
Library Systems & Services LLC, a Maryland company that operates more than 60 libraries nationwide, boasts that it can help libraries save by getting deals on bulk book orders and by securing more grant funding. The company, known as LSSI, acknowledges that it typically reduces staff by 10 percent to 20 percent and that its 401(k) packages are usually less generous than government pensions.
Seminole residents have said they're concerned about how a private company would handle book-buying, hours and fees, but LSSI materials say those decisions are left to local officials.
The county is awaiting proposals from companies, and commissioners probably won't take up the issue until August.
According to the Florida Library Association, which opposes the outsourcing of library services, no Florida libraries are run by for-profit companies, though several local governments have recently considered it. Sarasota and Hernando counties decided against it.
But in Jackson County, Ore., Judy Baalman, the libraries' business and support services manager, said LSSI helped save the system. Libraries there were shuttered in 2007 because of budget cuts. Through a contract with LSSI, the libraries reopened six months later for about half of what the county had been spending. Some former employees were rehired, though the new staff had fewer professional librarians. Hours were cut, and some libraries are open only eight hours a week. Circulation decreased, though Baalman said it's approaching original levels.
"It appears for the most part that people of the county have fit their library use around the open hours," she said, adding that she still gets complaints about limited schedules. Some Jackson County communities have agreed to pay levies to keep libraries open more hours.
By Wednesday afternoon, Johnson and her team had collected more than 1,000 signatures. They've also launched an online petition and a blog, http://keepingpublicseminolepubliclibrary.blogspot.com./
Rachael Jackson can be reached at rjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-540-4358.
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