There has been a rumor floating around San Benito County that there was perhaps a clandestine movement to privatize the county library. Louis Valdez, county clerk and analyst, put the rumor to bed by declaring to the board of supervisors on Aug. 23 that was not the case, as he stood before them to introduce representatives from Library Systems and Services Incorporated (LSSI).
LSSI was the sole respondent to a request for proposal (RFP) the county issued on behalf of itself, Hollister, San Juan Bautista and the County of San Benito Joint Intergovernmental Committee. The request asked for assistance to provide a needs assessment, which would result in the creation of a comprehensive understanding of operational and building needs for the library and eventually a Technology, Education, and Library (TEL) Center.
The goal of the needs assessment, according to the office of Ray Espinosa, county administrative officer, is develop a comprehensive analysis of the unmet facility and operational needs in the existing library. It is also identify the needs (capital and operational) for a TEL, which would serve as a hub for the entire community to:
- expand the depth and breadth of library collections including digital resources raising literacy and school standardized test scores;
- provide access to digital literacy and technology for San Benito County residents ages 0-5, school age, teen, and adult;
- provide a physical library design and location that accommodates 21st Century needs in the areas of technology, education, information, and recreation serving not only library programs, but also literacy needs, and other community needs (i.e. conference rooms, and commercial space);
- provide the ability to include non-profit, private, and or commercial sector economic stimulus;
- and to provide the ability to incorporate public-private partnerships in order to lower costs, increase services, and remain relevant to users of all ages and demographics.
Officials with the county as well as the city of Hollister agree that the existing library facility and service levels are inadequate to accommodate both the present and future needs of the county population.
“The scope of the RFP did not ask for recommendations regarding privatization of any of the operations of the library,” Valdez told the board. “It did not request a detailed discussion of any kind regarding cost-sharing, labor, or operations of any kind. What it did ask for was a contractor to come in and take a look at the operations of the library, as is, and put together an assessment of the needs that the community has between the city, the county, and all of the other areas affected by it.”
Valdez wanted to make it clear that the county was not in the process of privatizing the library.
“To that end, through the city manager’s office and the members of the Intergovernmental Committee, has agreed to pay for one half of the cost of the needs assessment should this board proceed to direct staff to award that RFP and the needs assessment to this firm and to come up with data upon which this board can make decisions about how to proceed with that TEL center or with the library in whatever form the city and the county may determine is best,” he said.
Bob Windrow, vice president of business development for LSSI, then went through a lengthy presentation, first about the company’s 35 years of working with community libraries, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. Then he spoke of the county library’s needs assessment goals, the company’s approach in determining them, and the delivery of a plan on how to achieve those goals.
Then Dana Braccia, vice president of library services, described the second phase of the research the company would conduct as the “heavy lifting portion.” This is where the company gathered the data, analyzed it, and then would draft the report for the board.
“The deliverables would include an in-depth assessment, looking at everything from collections, programming, technologies, space needs, and community engagement,” she said.
Supervisor Margie Barrios asked Braccia to what extent would LSSI use prior assessments because she thought the information was important and she didn’t want it “swept under the rug.” Braccia said there is no need to “reinvent the wheel” and said LSSI would build on those earlier assessments.
When there were no other comments from fellow supervisors, Board Chairman Robert Rivas opened the discussion to the public. Jeffery Holland said the report from the county did not quite match the one LSSI presented.
“He (Windrow) emphasized a lot how they have implemented programs in these various districts, and that’s the problem I have,” he said. “I have looked through this document, which they’ve shown you a part of and their needs assessment is excellent. However, what worries me is they are the ones doing the assessment and they may ask to be the ones to implement it. That seems to me a conflict of interest.”
Though Valdez had earlier said the library would not be privatized, Holland still cautioned against it because he said a privatized library would exclude the most needy children. Any cost is too much when you can’t pay it,” he said. “I would ask you to be very concerned about seeing to it that the profit of a company—not necessarily this one—would not deprive those who simply cannot pay.”
Mark Weirick, SEIU 521 union organizer, warned against the county working with LSSI, which he claimed had a reputation of taking over and privatizing libraries at the expense of communities and library employees.
“To do business with them for this needs assessment will provide them with an opening and make a sales pitch to run this library in the future,” he said. “Their business model is often to privatize and take over libraries in distress. They often claim to be able to do more with less with less often being less investment in staff, in programming, and less access to materials for the library’s collection.”
Weirick further claimed that in the libraries that LSSI runs, there is an incentive to keep costs down and profits up by lowering salaries and benefits of employees, relying more on volunteers, reducing programs, and services.
“We want the board to be cautious in doing business with this company,” he said. “The board needs to be clear from the outset that the task at hand is only to complete a needs assessment, and not to provide a means for this company to say that they’ve assessed what the county and what it needs is for them to run this library.”
Rebecca Salinas, treasurer of Friends of the Library, said the proposal for the needs assessment was well written, but asked the board to appreciate the organization’s apprehensions. She expressed concern that the company’s prominence and industry influence might affect the many volunteers.
“I, for one, will not volunteer for a for-profit company,” she said. “I’m sure these people will do a great job, but keep your eye on them.”
Hollister resident Marty Richman chastised past county inaction in not applying for state grants that would have helped pay for a new library.
“We couldn’t get off our backsides to ask them (state) to give us two dollars for every buck we put in,” he said. “I looked at those winning applications and they all had needs assessments, and they were almost all done by third parties because the state tends to believe that third-party needs assessments.”
Richman said the needs assessment is required in order to get the project off the ground because the city and county have not been able to move it along so far. He claimed that the contributions of $15,000 from the city and $800,000 by the county were not enough to operate the library, and that grants have kept it afloat.
“This is not the library we need for this community,” he said. “The kids who are in school here now are going to need jobs someday. If they don’t have a library and a good education, they’re going to have a tough time getting a good job. This nation and the world a splitting along two lines: the educated, which are valued by society, whether you like it or not, and the uneducated, who will end up hauling the trash.”
Valdez agreed with Richman, describing the library as the center of knowledge in any community. He said what the county is trying to accomplish with the needs assessment is to listen to the constituents of the community.
“They’re telling us to look inward, to identify opportunities, build efficiencies into our finances and operations, and to get reliable data in order to make solid decisions to make sure we’re making the best possible expenditures per penny of the tax dollar they’re giving us,” Valdez said. “We’re in the shadow of Silicon Valley and we need to have well prepared and well educated students who will go into the economy to be leaders.”
He responded to the conflict of interest concern by stating LSSI was the only company that responded to the RFP and that it was, if not the only, one of the few companies that work with libraries in this way.
Rivas asked for clarification that LSSI was the only respondent and they were only working on a needs assessment, and that the county would not be bound by any of its recommendations. Valdez told Rivas that he was right, but added that a specialized company like LSSI has to have some credibility in the kinds of recommendations they will eventually make.
“We haven’t moved beyond the needs assessment because we don’t know what they’re going to say at this point,” Valdez said. “They’re almost a sole-source provider in that regard.”
He told the board that LSSI was not only experienced around the nation, but in California, in particular, so, he said, they are aware of the issues surrounding the needs assessment and library operations.
Barrios said she was concerned that LSSI has to watch out for its own investment and the county should proceed with caution to make sure the county is getting what it is paying for.
“If they come back with recommendations, that’s for another day,” she said. “Then we bring back the community to decide where we want to go.”
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz wanted to make sure that no monies had yet been spent. Valdez said that was the case. De La Cruz wanted assurance that if LSSI were awarded the contract that there would be extensive communication involving the community throughout the process. Valdez said that was crucial to the process.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho commented that he was opposed to any privatization of the library, but said he supported of a needs assessment. He explained that there are a number of reasons to contract with an outside consultant, explaining that the county staff is minimal and there already several important projects they are working on, including a new fire station and a homeless center.
“Once we have a needs assessment we need to develop some sort of revenue stream to properly fund the library,” he said. “If you don’t have the money it’s pretty hard to meet the needs no matter what, which bring me to my next point: we have to have a better working relationship with our partners. After this, we need to persuade them (city) to adopt impact fees. We need to get more of a working partnership for day-to-day operations as we go forward for a new facility.”
Rivas said he had heard the rumors about privatizing the library. He said the people who were telling him this seemed to know more about it than he did. He said it was unfortunate that only one company responded to the RFP, but it is necessary to move forward.
“For me, it’s about our service at the library,” Rivas said. “We all know our facilities are outdated and we need to improve them. We need an educational facility that’s going to serve our residents. I think this assessment is going to tell us how we can make our library stronger.”
The board unanimously voted to award the RFP for the needs assessment to LSSI. Valdez told BenitoLink tthat he contract would be for $15,000, and would be evenly split between the county and Hollister. He was not aware if San Juan Bautista had been approached to pay a share.
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