North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Closures not on the books
Auckland Council is rejecting claims a restructuring process for libraries will result in ‘‘rolling closures’’.
Community group Love Our Libraries, which originally tried to stop the restructure, released a statement on Monday criticising Auckland Council’s Fit for the Future programme. The programme is designed to evolve Auckland’s libraries to better meet the growing demand for digital and online services.
As part of the programme Auckland Libraries underwent a restructure which resulted in voluntary redundancies from 74 staff in March. Many of its remaining staff were required to reapply for jobs.
Love Our Libraries spokeswoman Julia Schiller said under-staffing was impacting services and could lead to shortened library hours.
Schiller said she was aware of 71 shifts needing to be filled by workers in July.
She said library managers had been asked to consider what programmes or special events could be cut, due to reduced staff hours.
Auckland Libraries general manager Mirla Edmundson said no programmes would be cut, opening hours wouldn’t change and services hadn’t been impacted. She said there were some temporary staffing gaps because some libraries had staff opt for voluntary redundancy or take roles in different libraries.
Auckland Libraries was looking to recruit about 20 temporary staff for July and August to help bridge any gaps.
The Public Service Association (PSA) - the union representing library staff said it had serious concerns about the restructure.
PSA acting national secretary Kerry Davies said it was clear that cost-cutting had been one of the central drivers of the restructure and it was disappointed by the limited consultation process.
‘‘It’s hard to see how this won’t result in a diminished level of service,’’ Davies said. ‘‘We will be taking our members’ concerns to the council.’’
Edmundson couldn’t give a final number of redundancies because it was still in the redeployment process.
The restructure aimed to future-proof Auckland’s 55 libraries by better resourcing digital, online and telephone services and expanding mobile services to reach isolated communities.
The restructure should reduce costs by $1.8 million per year and be completed on July 31.