“What Have We Done Wrong?”
Those are the words of the Chairman of the Marion County Public Library. I spoke with Lou Mahern this morning about the problems the library has been facing lately. Mahern told me that the library has had its problems, but it is still one of the most efficient library systems in the country.
He said the library is working to be efficient with taxpayers’ money. He criticized a proposal by City-County Council member Ike Randolph to have the Library settle its litigation with binding arbitration. Mahern said there are at least 12-14 parties involved in the litigation and they aren’t sure who all the parties are. He was more open to the idea of privatization, acknowledging that the Library has privatized a number of services.
Mahern defended the raise for CEO Linda Mielke, saying she done a good job at keeping the library running in an efficient manner. At the end of the interview he issued a challenge for anyone to tell him “what has the library done wrong?” Somehow I think Mahern may not have much trouble getting that question answered.
