Destruction of a Library System

According to the Providence Business News, most of the employees of the Providence Public Library in Rhode Island (PPL) are getting layoff notices. The branch libraries of the PPL are being turned over to the City of Providence from the non-profit the runs the PPL. And, a new bureaucracy has been formed to run the branches. The main branch, which will not be turned over also receives major funding to serve as the state-wide reference resource center.

http://www.pbn.com/detail/41951.html

The question to Providence is how to continue to keep the branches open with insufficient funding. The new bureaucracy is not generating any new revenue, but says it can do a better job and run the branches more efficiently - allowing them to remain open.

All of the public libraries currently belong to the same network - Ocean State Libraries and share the same catalog, bylaws, and funding sources. The network is funded by the State and the local towns and municipalities. Along with that layer of bureaucracy, the State Office of Library and Information Services receives millions to fund salaries to administer library programs.

So, millions in funding go towards the notion of managing library services while branches are closed and actual library employees are laid off due to lack of funding. And, the answer is to create yet another another managerial bureaucracy.

R. Balliot
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com