Wealthy Chicago Suburb Prepares To Cut One-Third of Library Budget

There's talk of outsourcing, but no moves until a consultant's report arrives in August

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 07/29/2009

• Sales taxes from mall are down
• LAC hired to recommend $300K in cuts
• Friends urge temporary cuts, not permanent ones

The affluent Chicago suburb of Oak Brook has long relied on significant tax revenues from its large mall in lieu of property taxes, and those revenues have supported library service at more than $160 per capita for a community of about 8700. Sales taxes, however, are down, and city officials want to cut $400,000—nearly one-third—from the library’s $1.35 million budget.

In fact, village leaders have even publicly mused about privatizing management of the Oak Brook Public Library. "The odds of outsourcing are low," Trustee Gerald Wolin told the Daily Herald. "But it's not out of the question."

The only vendor that specializes in full outsourcing, Library Systems & Services, LLC,  (LSSI), usually runs libraries that have shoestring budgets or are in significant transition. In Oak Brook, a one-third cut would still leave a library better supported than most of its peers.

Consultant's report coming
However, the town board has contracted with consultant Library Associates Companies (LAC) to study the staffing, organization, and work flow, aiming to find $300,000 in permanent cuts to the library budget, in part through outsourcing. 

The DuPage Library System, which includes Oak Brook, earlier this year contracted with LAC to provide staffing services and support for its 132 members. While LAC offers outsourcing services, it does not run libraries as a whole.

The notion of privatization—or even permanent cuts to the library budget—does not sit well with library supporters. "Privatizing is a Draconian solution which will destroy the library as a viable community resource," Barbara Benezra, president of Friends of the Oak Brook Public Library, according to the Daily Herald. 

The Friends recommend temporary cuts in materials and hours, rather than in staff, so service can be restored when tax revenues increase. Library director Meg Klinkow-Hartmann confirmed to LJ that the budget cut was $400,000—given the recent imposition of $100,000 in additional cuts—but said she couldn't comment while the report from LAC was pending.