The City’s library committee/focus group met last night. No news stories as of this morning, but you can count on SCVTalk readers to post some reviews:
Well, besides all of the preaching (by Dubberly and Pulskamp, mainly) and admonishings that “the decision has been made,” plus the numerous typographical errors (double pages, missing pages, references to another library, instead of our own), precious little work was done (30 minute brainstorming on what SCV will look like in 10 years), the most scant of information was gathered, and the committee members were not given any work to do before the next meeting.
Furthermore, one committee member asked if/how she should gather public input, and Dubberly told her that was not necessary — that this committee was chosen for their unique views, and it was intended that committee members only present their own opinions.
So, then, another committee member asks, “but what about the community surveys (et al) that the City told us we would gather?”
To which Dubberly replied….wait for it…, “the focus groups will be by invitation.”
Yup. Library Committee members are to represent themselves and their own opinions (and, I guess, by extension, whatever “community” the City Council thinks they represent), and focus groups will be by invitation only.
A positive review from Berta:
The purpose of tonight’s meeting was for the committee to meet the team, hear the strategic plan process overview, and participate in the vision-setting exercise designed to help define the ideal future and vision for Santa Clarita. This exercise will help define service priorities for our Santa Clarita Library System.
Mr. Dubberly made it very clear there would be community surveys circulated for everyone interested to provide input. After it is clear what the PRIORITIES of this community are for library services, focus groups interested in particular elements will be formed to work on those elements i.e. parents of home schooled students, senior citizens, high school students, non proficient English speakers, etc.
I thought it was productive for a first effort of such a large and diverse group and look forward to working with the other committee members in 2011.
Even if the City was right about “cracks forming” in the COLA System, I still can’t bring myself to support the City since the takeover process has stunk since the beginning. If the City were truly interested in the public’s opinion on how our library system should be run, they would have put this committee/focus group together back in June or July, prior to the decision being made. If they cared, they might have delayed the decision until the cracks actually formed, then rode in on a white horse and rescued us from the County. But they didn’t care; they had their plan and went with it, despite massive opposition. And now they want to hear from us.
Nevertheless I’m sure they’ll get some good information from the members of the committee.
A year from now, the committee’s work finished, we’ll have three libraries run by private LSSI employees. The lazy & shiftless library employees we have now will be gone. Overseeing the system will likely be the City’s library ad-hoc committee composed of a few Councilmembers. The libraries themselves may not look any different but there will be (as another reader pointed out) “revenue-generating” spaces inside the libraries for LSSI to turn some extra profit out of the deal. And when April 2012 finally comes around, nothing will change because the releection of incumbents is virtually guaranteed in this town.
So yeah- in effect the City has pulled off this coup perfectly, with only a few minor glitches, and now they’ll get to say they talked to the public about the whole thing. Good government is alive and well in the SCV!
Comments (65)