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Maryland Company Seeks to Privatize Oceanside Library

On January 13, the Oceanside Public Library's board of trustees held an unprecedented emergency meeting. The meeting was precipitated by an announcement by city manager Peter Weiss that a private library-operation firm had approached the city, requesting copies of library operating budgets for the two-branch system; Weiss gave the go-ahead for the company to produce a proposal.

The library board resolved that they are opposed to privatization. The board's president, Kathy Christy, stated, “The only way this company makes money is to fire all the staff and rehire only some at a lower wage with reduced benefits. All five of our [board] members are expressing great concern. We have an excellent staff. We are a gem in the city.”

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Appointed by the mayor, the library board sets policy and plans for future library improvements. If their opposition isn't enough, perhaps the Friends of the Library organization will prompt the city to close the issue. Last year, the volunteers served 26,864 volunteer hours, the equivalent of 13 full-time staff positions.

One of the most vocal in opposition to the privatization is Gail Wells, a volunteer who manages the Friends Bookstore and the library's farmers’ market booth; she also searches through donated books to find antiquities to sell on Amazon. Last year, Wells generated $58,647 through book sales, of which $29,974 was from her Amazon site. “I would quit instantly,” Wells said, “and so would every one of my volunteers.”

If the pages continue to turn on this issue, library users will look to city councilman Jerry Kern, a big supporter of the library. His wife Blake Kern serves as vice president of the Friends. But board president Christy hopes the early and swift opposition will stop the city from having any further discussion with LSSI.

The board is investigating libraries around the country where LSSI has taken over. “We hear there are some bad relationships in some cities,” says Christy. “We want to know more.”

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On January 13, the Oceanside Public Library's board of trustees held an unprecedented emergency meeting. The meeting was precipitated by an announcement by city manager Peter Weiss that a private library-operation firm had approached the city, requesting copies of library operating budgets for the two-branch system; Weiss gave the go-ahead for the company to produce a proposal.

The library board resolved that they are opposed to privatization. The board's president, Kathy Christy, stated, “The only way this company makes money is to fire all the staff and rehire only some at a lower wage with reduced benefits. All five of our [board] members are expressing great concern. We have an excellent staff. We are a gem in the city.”

Sponsored
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Appointed by the mayor, the library board sets policy and plans for future library improvements. If their opposition isn't enough, perhaps the Friends of the Library organization will prompt the city to close the issue. Last year, the volunteers served 26,864 volunteer hours, the equivalent of 13 full-time staff positions.

One of the most vocal in opposition to the privatization is Gail Wells, a volunteer who manages the Friends Bookstore and the library's farmers’ market booth; she also searches through donated books to find antiquities to sell on Amazon. Last year, Wells generated $58,647 through book sales, of which $29,974 was from her Amazon site. “I would quit instantly,” Wells said, “and so would every one of my volunteers.”

If the pages continue to turn on this issue, library users will look to city councilman Jerry Kern, a big supporter of the library. His wife Blake Kern serves as vice president of the Friends. But board president Christy hopes the early and swift opposition will stop the city from having any further discussion with LSSI.

The board is investigating libraries around the country where LSSI has taken over. “We hear there are some bad relationships in some cities,” says Christy. “We want to know more.”

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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