I’ve seen former county reference librarian Deb Abbadie everywhere on the library issue: speaking to the Board of Supervisors last fall, quoted in Union articles, speaking to the 7:30 AM rally at the Rood Center in December, and this morning with an “Other Voices” column in The Union.

She’s one of the most knowledgeable people out there fighting to preserve the quality and the public nature of our library system.

Here’s an excerpt from her column this morning:

Is there really a crisis that warrants changing management of the library, or can the proposals put forth by the county librarian resolve this problem. Also, the library system is not broke, it still has the same resources available, with a temporary reduction in revenue.

Further, our library does not fit the profile of library systems that have chosen to contract with LSSI. LSSI has a monopoly in the area of public library management, and yet they currently hold contracts with only 13 public library systems out of the 9,214 in the United States. Most government entities do not recommend entering into a contract when there is no competition.

LSSI, as a for-profit business, will have different philosophical, economic and political perspectives. What might be the impacts and influences on the management of our public library?

Let’s not weaken the underpinnings of the Nevada County Library. As a public library, it should remain a public institution, accountable to the community it serves.