[Challenger]

IMHO government should do for people what is essential and what they cannot do for themselves. Where does a library fall on this spectrum? Ill be interested in the discussion on this thread

[perrjojo]

I have mixed feelings. On one hand we say there is too much government but on the other hand we want them to run the library. The US postal system looses billions a year but private enterprise FedEx and UPS offer similar services and make a profit.

[paulandjean]

Originally Posted by forznoles

At Tuesday night's Sumter Co Board of County Commissioners meeting, talk of privatizing the local public library system has been approved for review. The Board will consider and vote on it soon. Essentially, the only company in the US (LSSI, Library Systems and Services out of Maryland) that does privatized public library systems would "take over" the operations of the Sumter Co library system. Library staff would be LSSI employees, and LSSI would do the operations. Does anyone think this is a good idea? Would you like a national company that has as its goal of making a profit to decide how many books and what books go into your local library? They would determine fees, fines, amount of services (and remember, they want to make a profit), who can get a library card (if you can't prove local residency, they may decide that you don't get a card!), what books are in what libraries and how many, etc. They can decide that the Belvedere library gets Dr. Spock's baby book, and the Lake Panasoffkee library gets large print books. Would a company that wants to make a profit would work with the local Sumter Co Friends of the Library? Why would we even have a Friends of the Library anymore? Wouldn't that be like having a bake sale for Exxon? If you have an opinion on this, please let your County Commissioner know in the next two weeks. The next Board meeting is in Bushnell, not locally in The Villages, on May 14th � if you have any concerns, it is encouraged that you to show up at this meeting or contact the Board in advance.

Not sure. If you want a national company ,thats there to make a profit running our library. Look at it this way, You have national companies running our charter schools for profit,and you can guess how well they are doing. "NOT" So watch out for what you are wishing for.

[manaboutown]

As a possible future villager I certainly hope the Sumter County library system does not go the way of the parades in The Villages!

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

As a possible future villager I certainly hope the Sumter County library system does not go the way of the parades in The Villages!

That would be a shame. I do not see them phasing out the library system in the Villages; just putting in cheaper workers if the libraries are privatized and giving citizens of the county much less say in what happens at the libraries in their community.

The Lady Lake Library has a very active Children's Department and when the two sections were in the same building (Children's and Adult's) before they built the new Lady Lake Library, there were a lot of kids and teens in the library.

[rhood]

I think that the commissioners are copping out and just want to wash their hands of the library system. It is just one more thing that they have to mess with.

I haven't been in a library or a bookstore since I got my Kindle.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by rhood

I think that the commissioners are copping out and just want to wash their hands of the library system. It is just one more thing that they have to mess with.

I haven't been in a library or a bookstore since I got my Kindle.

Does anyone have information about the numbers involved in this? How much money will it save the County by doing this? How many people use the library system in Sumter County? What's the breakdown if they have one in numbers of kids vs. adults that use the library system now? What's the Library budget for Sumter County? What's the Budget of Sumter County?

I know that often 75% of the more popular books were often gone from the shelves at Belvedere Library (Sumter County) near the Villages HS. This is information from my parents who use that library about every week.

[2BNTV]

I like the feel of a book in my hand so I hope this benefits the library sytem.

[janmcn]

Originally Posted by perrjojo

I have mixed feelings. On one hand we say there is too much government but on the other hand we want them to run the library. The US postal system looses billions a year but private enterprise FedEx and UPS offer similar services and make a profit.

FedEx and UPS used private dollars to start up their companies. I'm assuming this CA company wants to run the library with Sumter County tax dollars. It could get very interesting if a progressive CA company starts deciding what Sumter County residents will read.

BTW: The US postal service gets zero tax dollars.

[Taltarzac725]

Library Systems & Services, LLC.


http://www.lssi.com/communities.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library...s_%26_Services

http://www.lssi.com/communitylist.cfm

[Harry Gilbert]

I don't know Librarians earn in Florida, In Jersey its roughly 65K. By looking at the contractors website I'm guessing that they won't be matching the present salaries wherever they are awarded the contract

[OlThymer48]

So far the only county in Florida to privatize their library is Osceola; I've been to a few of their libraries vacationing over the years, and since the private company took over, there are a lot more empty shelves, and they put little signs up that say "This space reserved for books not yet written," which to me is code for "we're not buying any more books for you." My wife and I both go to Belvedere and Pinellas Plaza (at least 1-2 times a week), and the staff at both have always been so great in helping find books and getting us set up on the Kindle, they even know my name and say hello when I come in. 3-4 years ago when we became permanent residents, the system wasn't that great, but it has improved so much; I would hate to see some company come in and ruin it.

[signal63]

If LSSI takes over the library system it will affect all of us, the services which you now have may be eliminated or you may pay a fee. In Osceola County late fees and copy fees are higher, they don't offer fax services . Do you really want to lose the ability to have an input on what the libraries order? Or how about the programming, are you ready to pay a fee ? And how about the employees who help you choose your reading material, or help you find the information you need, they will have to apply for a position with LSSI and then hope they have a retirement and health plan or look elsewhere for a position because the county is not making provisions for job placement.

[travelguy]

I visit a library no less than once a week. The services provided are community-based and as such are unique and reflective of what the community needs and wants. A private company has no allegiance to the community; their motivation is profit.
I do not like the direction this is taking.

[Wiseoldfool]

Run improperly the library can certainly be run cheaper. And as incompetence drives folks away from lack of interest the library will be thought of as obsolete. This is just a way to eliminate the drag of the retirement system and management of the library system. For the people that have been around remember back to when the libraries were an afterthought kept running by a few dedicated volunteers and city budget leftovers and donations. Now the county is being served by professional staffs who continually adapt to the community's needs. And last but not least, don't forget the smell test. A commissioner brings up the idea out of the blue (wasn't on the agenda), the commission agrees to look into it, and less than 12 hours later library employees are told that they need to start deciding their future employment plans for after Oct 1, 2013.