Monday, October 24, 2016

More than 50 jobs could go at Auckland libraries

 
Library staff have been told by council management not to talk to the media about the changes. Photo / Natalie Slade
Library staff have been told by council management not to talk to the media about the changes. Photo / Natalie Slade

More than 50 library staff at Auckland Council could lose their jobs before Christmas in a big shake up and cost-cutting exercise.

The council is also looking at shutting 31 libraries between Christmas and New Year for the first time and making staff work at two or more libraries.

Libraries general manager Mirla Edmundson said "resetting the library service" was in the early stages, but confirmed it could affect 1100 fulltime and part-time staff. Changes are expected to be decided in December and largely implemented by February next year.
A freeze on recruiting new staff since the middle of the year could reduce the number of staff cuts, she said.
A staff information document, Fit for the Future, issued on August 15 and obtained by the Herald, said there is a need to reduce staff numbers by around 5 per cent.
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Deborah Hill Cone: Library cost-cuts cultural vandalism

Libraries are more important than ever in a fast-changing world. Photo / Dean Purcell
Libraries are more important than ever in a fast-changing world. Photo / Dean Purcell
'You want weapons? We're in a library. Books are the best weapon in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have. Arm yourself!"
- Doctor Who.

I don't believe in much. I'm not religious, I don't think I learned anything at school, I hate sports, I am not a group-joiner, I don't like travelling, I don't share the national fervour for home ownership, DIY, rugby or competitive outdoor pursuits.
Cars, phones, computer games, vegan cheesecake, glittery Miu Miu sunglasses, can live without 'em. But there is one thing I truly am willing to fight for: public libraries.
"The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man," TS Eliot wrote.

Six months ago I filled in a survey about Auckland Libraries. It asked such pointed questions it sounded like it was a thinly-veiled attempt to justify closing libraries.
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