Leander Public Library

Prospect of privatizing Toronto's library sparks outcry

Steve Hubbard has been helping the people of Fargo, N.D., find the books they want for nearly 30 years as a reference librarian. The 62-year-old began working at the local library part-time in high school and never left.

But in 2001, he was faced with a plan that would make most librarians cringe.

The city decided to outsource the libraries’ management to a company called Library Systems and Services, and Mr. Hubbard would answer to people in the library business to make money.

But after an initial public outcry faded, Mr. Hubbard says, “everyone was pretty happy. They were certainly capable professionals.”

The concept of for-profit, privately run libraries is fairly new. But in the United States it is has become an increasingly popular option for cash-strapped cities, and according to the Library Workers Union Local 4948, Toronto could be next.

The union launched a campaign called Project Rescue July 13 to fight the threat of outsourcing library services as the city waited for Thursday’s KPMG report on cutting costs. The report recommended Toronto, “rationalize the footprint of libraries to reduce service levels, closing some branches” in order to save $13.3-million. The consultants also suggested trimming library outreach and programming.

“The cuts would be devastating to the library system,” says union president Maureen O’Reilly, who’s running Project Rescue. She says the library’s budget has already been cut 10 per cent since amalgamation.

While the report didn’t suggest outsourcing as a way to cut costs, Ms. O’Reilly insists it’s “still in play.”

“We’re only in the first year of the Ford administration. We also have a budget process where the city manager is asking for another 10-per-cent budget cut.”

As part of the campaign, the union set up a website and a petition last week responding to Councillor Doug Ford’s comments in February that the city is going to be “outsourcing everything that is not nailed down.” Mr. Ford fuelled the campaign by carping on CFRB radio recently that his neighbourhood has more libraries than Tim Hortons – Etobicoke has 13 libraries and 39 Tim Hortons.

The website explains the union’s fear: “We are likely to see our City Council privatize some or all of the TPL’s operations, unless we act to change this outcome.

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