Dear Council Members:

I am both alarmed and dismayed at the current proposal to privatize the Oak Ridge Public Library beginning January 2016. I understand the City Council’s need to create a workable budget for the upcoming year, but we must beware of making sudden major changes to a valuable city resource on the vague promise of saving money. It is unconscionable that the city would make such a change without a full feasibility study of particulars, both positive and negative, along with full documentation of public comment and thoughtful analysis and response to those comments. Such a study is crucial because it would reveal the extent to which privatization would affect the city’s long-term ability to meet its citizens’ needs as well as its finances. More importantly, the study is necessary in order for our Council and citizens to exercise informed consent or dissent on the matter. [Read more…]