As the Evanston Public Library Board of Trustees considers splitting off the library from the City of Evanston and becoming its own library district, union workers representing close to 100 library employees staged a protest Aug. 20, marching from Fountain Square to the library airing their grievances over a proposal that they say could cut library employee positions, as well as employees’ benefits and hours.
The Library Board president said the library will not make such cuts, and is considering splitting off because it is not receiving adequate administrative and financial support from the City. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss said he opposes a split and wants to keep the library part of city government.
According to Eileen O’Neil, president of AFSCME Local 1891, a union, if the Library Board were to create a new library district independent from the city, it would weaken the union’s bargaining powers. Board of Trustees President Tracy Fulce said the board doesn’t intend to reduce the library’s staff, but that a split from the city could streamline administrative services and give the library more agency.
The city funds the library’s operations, owns the library’s buildings and administers the library’s employee services, including human resources, legal and financial, according to Fulce. The library’s Board members are appointed by the mayor of Evanston.
The library’s finances are in good standing, according to a financial report conducted by consultants hired by the library board. The library reported a net surplus with revenue outpacing expenses for the last three years.
Per Illinois law, a library can secede from a city’s authority either by referendum or by mutual consent from the City Council and Library Board of Trustees.
Fulce told Pioneer Press that the library is in the early stages of exploring whether it should remain a municipal library, under the city’s authority, or transition to an independent library district. The district would need to levy its own funds from taxpayers, while also giving the district agency in administering itself.
Fulce said the library is not getting adequate administrative services from the city.
“Unfortunately, those [administrative] services have not consistently met the Library’s needs, from delayed or incomplete HR support, to legal guidance that has required us to seek additional counsel at our own expense, to financial structures that have limited our ability to access state and county resources,” she said.
“We also carry debt service on buildings we don’t own, putting us in a structurally unsound financial position. These issues collectively limit the library’s ability to fully live out the commitments in our strategic plan, being a place of belonging, safety, and accountability for staff and community alike,” Fulce said.
The Library Board hired consultants Meristem Advisors to give the board advice on what it should consider when mulling staying with the city or leaving it. Meristem advised the Aurora Public Library in its split from the city of Aurora in 2020.
The library’s Executive Director Yolanda Wilburn wrote to the Library Boarad about that in a February letter. “The process began years earlier and involved some heavy lifting with regard to finance and systems but did not impact services to the community. In 2016, Aurora had a $10 million budget, and currently, it is $17 million,” she wrote.
But concerns over what an independent library district would look like irked some in the union after an Aug. 6 presentation by Meristem to the Library Board. The potential separation talks caught the attention of the union, O’Neil said, who then organized the Aug. 20 protest, marching to the regularly scheduled August Library Board meeting to give public comment.
At the protest, O’Neil said the proposed independent library district would drive up infrastructure and service costs now shouldered by the city.
“This plan opens the door to privatization schemes of public funds,” O’Neil said. “This plan would jeopardize library employees’ jobs and benefits, and this plan would force cuts to library services that are beloved by the public.”
O’Neil estimated that the library pays the city $350,000 for its services, but it otherwise would cost over $1 million. “Why does the city give the library such a great deal? Why does the city give the library so much bang for the buck?,” she asked.
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“Because we are partners, we are family, we are here for the community and the patrons. We are one city and one union,” she said.
“The union is one of the driving forces for (the library board) to want to split,” O’Neil told Pioneer Press. “Our collective bargaining agreement is negotiated with the library director and the City (of Evanston) Manager.”
“The library only has a total budget of $9.5 million that’s primarily funded from tax revenue,” she added. “They would have to dramatically increase taxes and reduce services to the public if they were to split from the city.”
O’Neil said she was also concerned that without the city’s oversight, the library would privatize government funds. “We’re concerned about a library building remaining a public entity for the patrons in this district… the library director (previously) referenced pop-up libraries and storefronts… so that concerned us, that they’re going to leave this public entity and just have a significantly reduced service for the general public.”
Fulce told Pioneer Press in an email, “We have ZERO interest in undermining staff representation or unions. This exploration is about making sure any structure we adopt truly serves and protects our staff and our patrons, especially given the public reports raising concerns about whether existing systems have adequately supported employees who belong to historically marginalized groups.”
“For context, I am an active member of my own union local, as are several of my Library Board colleagues. We deeply respect the role unions play in protecting workers. This is not about reducing staff voice or representation, it is about ensuring that the systems supporting our employees are responsive, fair and effective.”
In response to an inquiry from Pioneer Press, Mayor Daniel Biss released a statement on his thoughts of the proposed independent library district.
“I oppose splitting the library off from the City of Evanston. Splitting off the library would be bad for patrons, bad for library programming and services, and bad for workers.”