Oceanside Public Libraries Not Up For Bid

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published March 16, 2012 at 12:29 PM PDT

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

The city of Oceanside has narrowly avoided a putting its library system out to bid. What saved the public libraries from privatization was the number of library volunteers.

The city of Oceanside is looking for ways to close a $2 million budget gap, and privatizing its libraries was one option on the table.

A private company in Maryland said it could save the city about $400,000 a year to run the libraries.

But Councilman Jack Feller, who cast the deciding vote to reject the plan, said library volunteers save the city more.

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“I evaluated the number of volunteer hours and the money that that saves the city, which is over half a million dollars," he said. "I don’t know many people that would volunteer to help make a business profit."

Councilmembers Jerry Kern and Garry Felien supported outsourcing the libraries, while Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez opposed it.

The private company, Library Systems and Services, has been running the libraries for Riverside County since the 1990s. Santa Clarita Public Library contracted with the company last year. The "Friends of the Library" group of volunteers disbanded before the company took over.

No other city in San Diego County has privatized its public library system.

Oceanside is also considering developing its civic golf course to help generate revenue. That option would need a public vote before going forward.

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.