Huntsville City Council privatizes public library operations despite pushback from residents

The Huntsville City Council on Tuesday voted to outsource its public library operations to a private company, despite opposition expressed by multiple residents and calls to delay a vote so community members could gather more information about the proposal and provide input. The decision to enter a 10-year contract with Maryland-based Library Systems & Services came a few months after city officials ordered library staff to remove a "Ride With Pride" display highlighting books with LGBTQ+ themes. The move was approved 6-3, with eight council members and Huntsville Mayor Andy Brauninger voting. Now the existing library employees' jobs are at risk, with a Dec. 15 letter from the city informing them they would no longer be city employees once the contract takes effect in late January and they are not guaranteed to have jobs with the company.

Many of the dozen or so community members who spoke about the issue at Tuesday's council meeting questioned city leaders' motives for privatizing the Huntsville Public Library, with some suggesting a dispute about the appropriateness of LGBTQ-related content was a factor. According to the agenda item for the council meeting, the current annual operating budget for the library is $711,805 and the city expects to save more than $750,000 over the life of its contract with Library Systems & Services. "This move to contract out our public library is about one thing and one thing only: Our library had the audacity to recognize that LGBTQ people exist and that they are a part of our community," one resident told the city council before the vote. "This business of contracting out was never a serious issue prior to that rather innocuous display." Michelle Lyons, the president of the Huntsville Public Library Board, told Houston Public Media before the council meeting that the board had not been informed or consulted about the proposed contract with Library Systems & Services even though board members are appointed by the city council and tasked with making policy and programming recommendations regarding the library. She repeated that to council members during Tuesday's meeting and asked that they at least delay a vote to allow for more public engagement.