[Publib] public vs. private and the age thing (a bit long - sorry!)

[Steve Bouchard]

I honestly feel like, instead of debating the proper
balance between the private and public sectors in our
society as we formerly did, the American public has 
largely been duped into believing that, every time and 
in every situation, "government" is the enemy and the 
private sector does it better. 

While no one disputes the role of the private sector 
as the engine of our economy, I strongly believe there 
are still many situations, especially at the local level, 
where there remains a vital role to be played by citizens 
pooling their resources together to fund efficient, 
responsive services that meet, not only their short-
term wants and needs, but that also create and nurture
long-term benefits for our communities in ways that 
private sector organizations, for all their charitable 
contributions and feel-good marketing, often do not.

I think libraries exemplify the types of benefits that 
can still best be achieved through this public sector 
model.

So, while I agree with the common wisdom that libraries 
need to pay close attention to what circulates in their 
collections and what does not, and that libraries need 
to pay attention to what people like about bookstores, 
I think there are limits to how far we should be taking 
that approach. 

For instance, I always cringe when I hear self-proclaimed 
"experts" talk like we somehow better figure out a way 
to beat bookstores at their own game, or that we better 
be using circulation rates as the **only** criteria for
building our collections. It seems to me that setting
ourselves up for direct competition with the nearest
Barnes & Noble superstore is a sure path to oblivion. 
As the writer below points out, there are certain things 
(like generating revenue, which can then be used to 
hire more staff, stay open more hours, and buy more 
copies of the current bestsellers) that bookstores as 
private sector entities will **always** do better than 
libraries, simply by virtue of the fact that they operate 
on a business model based upon selling a product.

Maybe instead we need to focus upon (and strengthen, 
and promote) the things libraries, by virtue of the fact 
that they are public-sector organizations, are inherently 
better at doing than bookstores. These things include 
providing expert, in-depth customer assistance; vibrant 
literacy-, community-, and democracy-building activities
for community members of all ages and from all walks
of life; equitable access to community space; equitable 
access to, and assistance with, information technology; 
and stable, well-developed collections that appropriately 
blend popular materials with quality informational, 
cultural, and community resources.

Having said all this (and I know I've said enough already), 
I do believe there is one key area in which many public 
sector organizations - including many libraries - are in 
fact remiss compared to their private sector counterparts, 
and this gets back to the age thing: many of our libraries 
still have not effectively replaced traditional public sector 
methods of valuing employees that generally distribute 
influence and rewards based more upon one's length of 
tenure (age) than upon one's current, up-to-date job skills, 
productivity, attitude, and ability to work effectively in a 
flatter, team-based learning organization. 

While experience will always have value, in today's work 
environment, length of tenure alone no longer guarantees 
that an employee will have kept job skills and knowledge 
(or, for that matter, enthusiasm and "energy") up-to-date. 
Failure to address this reality by failing to make difficult
but much needed structural changes in hiring and promotion 
criteria, evaluation procedures, and compensation practices 
hinders the ability of libraries to move out dead wood - of 
all ages - and attract and retain badly needed talent - of 
all ages.

Until we effectively address this in our libraries, we 
really will be at a competitive disadvantage compared to 
the private sector in terms of our ability to demonstrate 
and deliver the fullest possible value to the communities
we serve. 

Thanks, and Happy New Year.

Steve Bouchard
Head of Reference & Information Services
Auburn Public Library
49 Spring Street
Auburn, Maine 04210
(207) 333-6640
www.auburnpubliclibrary.org





Greetings, 

I think that for-profit models can be at odds with
libraries.  However, there are few corporations
that can boast the same return on investment that
America's libraries provide and no other government
entity even comes close.  When I analyzed ROI for 
every tax dollar spent, I came up with 7 to 1 as
a very conservative estimate. 

On the other hand, corporations are very good at
growing.  They are able to capitalize, franchise,
and increase their workforce as a direct result 
of profits.  The profits that we realize to patrons
cannot be capitalized on, which results in stagnant
job growth and limited upward pressure on real
incomes.  In my mind, librarians are generally
worth much more that they are being paid.  

During the new information age, there should have
been many, many more jobs created for librarians.
To me, the discussion about job discrimination 
shows how the failure to create growth and new 
opportunities for the professional library workforce
leads to friction.  

*************************************************
Robert L. Balliot
1-401-441-5763
Skype: RBalliot
Bristol, Rhode Island
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/contact.htm
*************************************************
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