by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
City officials will go nationwide in their search to find qualified librarians to staff the new main library, the six new branch libraries and the 12 renovated branch facilities.
The Better Jacksonville Plan will set aside $95 million for the new main library and another $55 is designated for branch improvements. A positive side affect of the new facilities is the fact that hundreds of new jobs will be created. Among those jobs are several that the City calls “top-level professional positions.” In essence, head librarians, something the city is severely lacking.
Recognizing the impending shortfall, City officials and Ken Sivulich, director of libraries, will scour the nation to find qualified people to run the new libraries. Understanding that this won’t be the easiest task, Mayor John Delaney has asked City Council to pass a resolution that would permit the City to reimburse potential new library system employees for any travel expenses incurred as a result of coming to Jacksonville for an interview. Travel expenses for potential applicants have yet to be determined, but Sivulich estimates costs will run about $4,000 a year.
Sivulich said he needs to hire 12-15 more top-level staff members over the next few years and he expects to conduct an extensive nationwide search. He added that there are “virtually no” qualified candidates in the immediate area.
“That’s probably because there are no schools [colleges] in Jacksonville that provide a library science degree,” said Sivulich. “So, there are no librarians in town.”
Which raises the question, what about local high school librarians?
They, along with other State of Florida librarians, aren’t being considered because of their retirement policies. The City recognizes neither the Duval County School System’s nor the State of Florida’s retirement plan. That means a librarian at Mandarin High with 20 years of experience, and 10 years from retirement with the school system, would start from square one if they opted to leave the school system and go to work for the City’s library system. The same scenario applies to any State of Florida librarian within the state university system. Thus, the nationwide search.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easy. That’s why we are asking for legislation,” said Sivulich.
The mayor’s office realizes that the library system has been ignored for years and plans to help with the interview and hiring process as much as possible. Considering the amount of money that will be spent on facilities, Delaney’s chief of staff Audrey Moran said it would be foolish to not give proportionally equal attention to the staff.
“He is recruiting for a Renaissance-type library system,” said Moran of Sivulich. “We are going to triple the size of the downtown library, build six new ones and renovate 12 others. There’s a real need for a staff for him. The [library] board, himself and the mayor’s office will create a plan for him to get up to speed, staff-wise. That requires us to recruit from around the country.”
Moran said the new main library staff will not be dictated by the size of the new facility.
“It doesn’t mean we will triple the staff,” said Moran. “There is modern technology and the design makes it more functional.”
Sivulich disagrees.
“Our forecast for the main library is for the staff to triple,” said Sivulich. “I have 43 there now and 128 is the number we forecast. System wide, we have looked at the numbers and we expect to increase the staff by two, two and a half times.”
The system currently has 228 full-time civil service employees. When the new facilities open and the renovations are done, Sivulich will have about 525 employees.
Also, the current entire library system consists of 350,000 square feet of space. When the new libraries are built, that figure will reach about 730,000 square feet.
All this new staff will require a much larger working budget for Sivulich. Moran said Delaney is committed to assuring that happens. This year’s budget for the main downtown library and 15 branches is $18,156,256.
“There will be a budget increase every year for the next three years,” said Moran. “Historically, the library system has been significantly underfunded. We are working with the [library] board to correct that.”
Sivulich said he has taken out ads in library trade magazines all over the country in hopes of luring new potential new hires to Jacksonville. He said the City is working with him locally, too.
“I get 25 new positions during the current fiscal year,” said Sivulich. The current fiscal year started Oct. 1 and will end Sept. 30.
Moran said the City will do everything it can to guarantee the $150 million library system has a top-notch, proficient staff.
“This administration will work very, very closely with the library’s board of trustees and Mr. Sivulich,” said Moran. “We are going to build a great library system and we do not want have these beautiful facilities without a great staff.”