San Jose City Councilman proposes replacing retiring library workers with volunteers

Published on December 22nd, 2011
Written by: Steven M. Cohen
Next
Skip to Responses
Prev

San Jose Mercury News – “In an effort to preserve the cash-strapped city’s budget, a San Jose councilman wants to replace retiring city library workers with community volunteers or face the more serious alternative of outsourcing the libraries altogether. “We have beautiful libraries, and if we allow volunteers to augment current city staff, our libraries would be open more days per week,” said Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who has consistently sought to outsource the city’s union employees with less expensive contractors. “The reality is, 95 percent of the library patrons use self-check out. It’s not the library you and I grew up with. I want a model where the doors are open.”

Categories: News
Tags: ,
Next
Back to Top
Prev
arrow2 Comments
  1. gourd
    Dec 23 - 9:39 am

    ‘free labor or privatization’ is the dumbest worst dichotomy, I’m always vaguely ashamed on behalf of the people that present it. fuck off, councilman Oliverio.

  2. Dagny
    Dec 24 - 8:28 am

    Actually, having a volunteer-driven library makes a lot of sense. A public library exists for the benefit of its community. It is fitting that the community support the library in both tax revenues and volunteer services.

    Many successfully run volunteer service organizations such as Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (90% volunteer 10% paid staff) and American Red Cross exemplify how good, thorough volunteer training, leadership, and management can be used effectively to maximize operating resources. It can be done.

    Let’s be honest. Do you want the doors to stay open? The library’s mission is to serve the public, not to provide job security to library staffers. It’s called non-profit for a reason. (And yes, I am a library worker. Let the hate begin…)

Mobile Theme
Blog Sponsor
San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science