Huntington Beach City Council is moving forward with get proposals for privatizing the city’s libraries, which would allow an outside company to run its branches, despite public outcry from residents and librarians worried about their jobs.
A divided City Council directed city staff Tuesday night, March 19, to solicit bids from contractors to run the Huntington Beach Public Libraries. Interim City Manager Eric Parra, who is also the police chief, placed the item on the council’s agenda, saying it could help the city save money.
“I don’t know what the terms of an outsourcing contract might be, but I do know that outsourced libraries are widely known for being a revolving door of workers,” said Senior Youth Services Librarian Laura Jenkins. “Gone will be the days of the family librarian who grows with families as their children age. That to me is the biggest tragedy that will come with possible outsourcing.”
The privatization effort is the latest battle between Huntington Beach’s conservative leadership and residents opposing changes to city libraries. Huntington Beach Public Libraries in February began moving books containing sexual content away from the children’s section shelves based on a controversial city policy adopted last year that was championed by Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark.
The vote Tuesday night was 4-3, with the council’s majority approving the proposal. The vote allows city staff to start taking proposals from private companies wishing to run the libraries.
Maryland-based Library Systems & Services, a private company that manages other libraries throughout the country, earlier this year approached the city to operate Huntington Beach’s system “at a substantial annual cost savings for the city,” according to the staff’s report to councilmembers. That prompted the city to consider taking bids on privatizing the library’s operations, but opponents say Library Systems & Services has no competitors and would likely win the…
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