Biased library story shows why NY TIMES cannot be trusted

The TIMES did this “news” story on LSSI, the company that privately runs libraries. Recently the firm was hired by Santa Clarita to manage and staff three libraries.

From the tone of the article, you’d think LSSI was going to turn the libraries into profit making concentration camps. The “story” is simply a hit piece attacking LSSI — and privatization in general.

The story endlessly quotes 60′s era lefties who irrationally feared profit-making LSSI taking over “their” libraries. But apparently the reporter could find no critics of EXISTING LSSI-managed libraries.

Only once does he go to an existing LSSI library and asks how it is working out — in the last two paragraphs of the article. In that case (Redding), there was nothing but praise for LSSI (and you can imagine the paper looked hard for critics).

It’s one thing to slant a story. But the TIMES goes out of its way to OMIT a major portion of the story — LSSI’s successful history of running government libraries. The TIMES intentional omits of the primary success example of LSSI.

In 1997 LSSI took over the 32 branch library system of Riverside County. The libraries are still owned by the county, but the operation is now handled by LSSI. LSSI hired any current government library employee who wished to continue working there.

The county supervisors — some of whom were quite skeptical at the time — are delighted with the results. Lower costs, longer library hours, bigger book budget and — perhaps most important — the end of customer complaints. The single government employee who oversees the LSSI Riverside operation also has nothing but praise for the private service.

Is the Riverside County experience mentioned in this incredibly biased story? Anywhere? No.

This hit piece demonstrates only that liberals can’t handle the truth — either as reporters, as editors, or as readers.

BTW, I twice tried to post this critique of the story in their voluminous comments section, and apparently was unsuccessful. All one finds in the comments are an near infinite number of incredibly misinformed myopic progressives who can NEVER be swayed by facts or reason. Indeed, it is educational to read of the mythological terrors conjured up by these presumably intelligent yet woefully ignorant Luddites.

NOTE: If you would like more information and verification on the positive results generated by LSSI in Riverside County, check out this press release/op-ed I put out the following year. Included are URL links to government employee reports and studies that substantiate the good experience of that county.
And lest you think that Riverside County is some rural backwater, you will doubtless find it surprising that it is such apopulousbackwater! The county has a population of over 2,000,000 people. If it were a city, it would be the fifth largest in the nation.

http://open.salon.com/blog/richard_rider/2011/01/18/time_to_think_outside_the_library_box