Kudos: County Officials Revise Library Review Schedule
Kudos to county officials for revising the library outsourcing review schedule, and for opening up the process more fully to public participation.
According to Dave Moller’s article in today’s Union (“Helling to lead rally against outsourcing of library services“) the county has made — apparently as of Friday the 20th — two significant changes in its [...]
Is Fixing the Library Budget This Simple?
There’s a solution to the library budget shortfall which is at least simple in theory. But how practical or do-able is it? That merits some discussion, and the discussion leads to more questions than answers.
Here’s the concept:
The current ”retail transactions and use tax” approved by voters in 1998 under Measure B, and overwhelmingly renewed by voters (by [...]
Questions Asked But Not Yet Answered
The Library Outsourcing FAQ contains the statement, “This document will be updated weekly as needed.”
Here are three new questions I sent to the FAQ early last week that have not been answered yet:
(1) Can you cite the relevant “governmental procurement procedures” (county? state?) regarding the general publication of bid contents? Are these procedures available online? (i.e., can [...]
LSSI Cut Costs in Half (and Hours Too)
In April of 2007 Jackson County, Oregon closed fifteen of its library branches due to budget problems, the biggest library closure in United States history. In October of the same year, it re-opened all branches under a contract with LSSI.
[Note: Bold Italic emphasis is mine in the article excerpts below]
In his article (“Public Libraries For [...]
Contribute! Send Your Op-Ed to editor@sierravoices.com
Are you frustrated waiting weeks — or forever! — for your local newspaper to publish your Op-Ed?
Help Sierra Voices live up to its name. Raise your voice and submit your finely wrought and thoughtful words (free of hyperbole and cant) to editor@sierravoices.com.
As I write this, voices are joining together in a loud chorus all over [...]
Madelyn Helling Announces Rally on Tuesday 11/24/09 at 7:30 AM
I called Madelyn Helling this evening to ask her about her opposition to library outsourcing/privatization. She was very friendly and accessible, and expressed her vehement opposition to outsourcing.
We had a nice chat, mostly agreeing on the issues surrounding the outsourcing proposal. She said she would call someone in the Board of Supervisors’ office after we hung [...]
City of Calabassas Loses Money by Hiring LSSI
I wrote an email today to Matt Sylvain, assistant librarian at the Claire T. Carney Library at UMass Dartmouth, asking him whether he was aware of any town that had actually saved money by hiring LSSI, and here’s his reply:
“I’m not aware of such a community, but I haven’t looked at (or have had access to) [...]
My Call to the County Board of Supervisors
Inspired by Virginia Brunini’s letter to The Union on 11/19/09, I called the Board of Supervisor’s phone number (265-1480) today and spoke to Eve Diamond, Administrative Analyst for the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, a very knowledgeable, professional and helpful person.
I asked her specifically about what appeared to be a plan to allow as few [...]
Hate Privatization? Email bdofsupervisors@co.nevada.ca.us
The Library Outsourcing/Privatization issue is heating up.
Yesterday at 3 PM was the deadline for the submission of bids in response to the RFP. Two bids were submitted by the deadline: one from Library Systems Services, LLC (LSSI) and another from Friends of the Library Nevada County, but the latter bid was apparently submitted for the [...]
My Letter to the Board of Supervisors RE Library
This morning I sent the following letter to the Nevada County Board of Supervisors:
“Dear Supervisors:
I’d like to respectfully suggest a minor scheduling modification that would greatly enhance the opportunity for the general public to comment on whatever recommendation the county executive makes to the Board — at the conclusion of the RFP review process — [...]
