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Library staff and patrons warn WCCLS centralization would hurt local collections and jobs
Summary
Multiple library workers and patrons warned the Board that a proposal to centralize collection management at Washington County Cooperative Library Services could erode local library identities, lead to layoffs and impair service to underserved populations.
Library staff and long-time patrons told the Washington County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 4 that a proposed shift to a centralized collection-management model under Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) could harm local collections and prompt layoffs.
Anne Marie Anderson, an adult services librarian at Tigard Public Library, said centralizing collection development would “threaten this responsiveness” that allows each library to tailor materials to its community. She raised specific concerns about where funds would be reallocated, whether service hours would be cut at libraries serving the county’s largest share of residents, and the effect on specialized collections such as world languages and local history.
Callie Meldrum, a library assistant in youth services at Tigard, described the variety of unique collections across the cooperative and said a centralized model “would erase the uniqueness of each of these libraries' collections.” She warned that “lack of local staffing models” would mean layoffs and that the burden of any staff reductions would fall on member libraries and their patrons.
Liz O’Donnell, who said she has worked at six Washington County libraries over nine years and described herself as a library patron, argued that WCCLS lacks current infrastructure to manage collections for 16 member libraries. O’Donnell cited a study excerpt, saying the Marina and Co Governance and Funding Evaluation Assessment report found that “partners and community members reference pride in maintaining individual and unique library identities.”
Speakers raised operational details and costs mentioned in public testimony: Anderson asked, “What are the costs of relabeling 1,400,000 items in our system for uniformity?” and O’Donnell warned that downsizing local technical staff “to a team of only 5 or so newly hired employees will lead to more errors.” Commenters urged the board to pause and seek deeper discussion with library staff and the public; the transcript does not show a board response or action on the proposal during the recorded portion of the meeting.
