What’s going on at the Cleveland Public Library?
The Cleveland Public Libraries is one of the few public libraries that doesn’t have a full-time assistant.
When the Cleveland Browns won Super Bowl XLIX, the city’s libraries had to make the difficult decision of whether to hire an extra assistant to provide the support staff that was requested by the city.
The city’s Public Libraries and Archives Board is in the process of deciding whether to offer a five-year contract to an assistant that would replace the existing assistant.
Alfred W. Johnson, an associate professor of economics and director of the College of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Akron, said the city is using its budget and its limited resources to hire a fulltime assistant to work in the libraries.
“You need people who have experience, who have knowledge of the city, who are really, really good at their job, and that’s why we need someone who has been in the public library system for a while,” Johnson said.
“It’s not about having an assistant in the library who has never been there before.
It’s about having a person who’s experienced the public libraries in Cleveland.”
Johnson said it’s not a coincidence that the Browns won the Super Bowl, but the public should not forget that the Cleveland Libraries is also one of several libraries in the city that has a full time assistant.
Cleveland Public Library president and CEO Bill Pritchard told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the city was able to hire the assistant because the libraries budget was “very, very tight.”
“We are really proud of the fact that we have an assistant who has worked for the Cleveland libraries for a number of years,” Pritcher said.
“It’s something we’re very proud of.
It makes us proud to have this opportunity.””
It is our belief that there is no one better qualified than the assistant to do this job,” he said.
But Johnson said that the fact the city chose to hire someone with experience in the community library system does not mean the library is making a mistake in hiring an assistant.
“I think it’s really a good thing, because the library has so many people who come from the community,” he added.
“They’ve come to Cleveland from the suburbs and they’ve been a part of our community, they’ve done a great job in our community.”
Johnson added that the libraries goal is to hire people who are passionate about the city and who will help people find the information they need.