Fairfax County Libraries Use Public Support To Stay Public
Advocacy groups and donations keep the libraries afloat
Through thick and thin, Fairfax County Public Libraries have fought hard to stay public. Although the county has seen a 35 percent budget cut in the last two years, they have no plans to turn to privatization. Library privatization is a last ditch effort by many struggling governments keep libraries afloat, but it often comes at the cost of employee benefits. "There has been no talk, no rumors. We're a county agency," Mary Mulrenan, a spokeswoman for county's libraries, said. "They tell us what the budget is, and we tell them how we'll do it. We always make it work." When a library is privatized, the government gives their intended budget to a contracted firm, instead of the library itself. All library employees are dropped from …
Annandale Mom
9:47 am on Friday, November 12, 2010
Private companies that have taken over libraries often claim that the library staff aren't doing anything and use that as justification for firing them or having them lose benefits if they are retained/rehired. Fairfax County has a merit system for pay raises and promotions. Further, most Fairfax County Public Library managers are working managers -- they're on the service desks, not sitting in … more ›