« Threats to Survival of Libraries | HomePage | Promotion »
23/03/2005
Reasons Libraries Close
Scenario three. A small government library, part of a department that was absorbed by another department (thereby becoming an office instead of a department), that already has a library of it own. Both these libraries are at either ends of a city. The collections are quite different but there is some overlap in interest and they have both borrowed from each other for years. The absorbed library had a lovely but slightly introverted lib'n who never had to promote the services of the library before because it was a conveniently small organisation and she was located in a conveniently central location, everyone liked her and used the library. Promotion itself really wasn't a problem here until they were absorbed and faced with a mega dept determined to cut costs everywhere and a top dog who didn't know her and never visited her library. When they decided they only needed one library per mega dept she just didn't have enough experience to even make a case for staying open and really didn't have the interest - she was a year off retiring. They kept the library open for that year with her working by herself and simply closing the library when she needed time off.
Another library gone. More library staff positions gone. Another whole building of dept staff who are now having trouble getting their information needs met.
19:15 Permalink | Email this