It has happened.

Hamilton Public Library is the first public library system in Canada that has gone staffless.

Our employer has been very careful to not use the term “staffless” in this whole ordeal.

We were presented with the following terms: Rural Service Model, Extended Access, Extended Hours and Freelton Pilot Project. It all meant the same thing; the Freelton Branch opened on October 26 at 9:00 am without any staff present.

They tried to appease us by increasing the number of staffed hours in Freelton from 17 to 24 hours every week. This does not change the fact that there will be 36 other hours during that week when staff is replaced by technology and essentially, space.

The strength of our library system is not solely based on access to library materials. Our system is successful because we have people who deliver exceptional customer service every day. And in spite of the membership witnessing the decimation of full-time jobs and have had to get used to the always looming threat of precarity, they have remained with the system because they see the positive effects their daily interactions have with the patrons.

We agree that rural branches should have longer open hours. The City of Hamilton is continuously expanding and new communities are sprouting on its outskirts. But the message that is being conveyed with this Rural Service Model is that the rural community does not deserve to have more staff to attend to their needs. They can only have them part of the time. We hope that when you need assistance in filling out that PDF form for the government, or when you want to know the author of that blue book that you like, or when an emergency happens in Freelton, it would be during that 24 hours that a staff is present. How much cheaper was it to make Freelton “staffless-ready” versus putting a person there during those unstaffed 36 hours?

HPL’s Strategic Priorities of being a Community Beacon, being Relevant and Responsive and being a Creative and Changing Organization all touch on the concept of creating affirmative customer experiences by engaging with them and ensuring that their needs are anticipated. How will these strategies bear fruition if their finest champions are taken out of the equation?

We are not happy that we are the first.

Highlights of the September 2017 National Executive Board Meeting

National President’s Report

National Treasurer’s Report

A deal has been reached.

The Negotiating Committee would like to present the deal to the membership and afterwards, a ratification vote will be held.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Hamilton Room, Central Library

TURNER PARK LIBRARY

The presentation will begin promptly at 6:30pm

Central Library will be closed to the public at that time and members are asked to enter via the York Street doors. 

Please enter through the shipping doors.

Refreshments will be provided.

For more information please contact Jennie Hamilton (VP) via jehamilt932@gmail.com

In the October Labour Management meeting of CUPE 932 with its employer, HPL Chief Librarian Paul Takala presented the Rural Service Model proposal that he will be presenting to the Board.

The gist of the proposal is to extend the open hours of rural branches without any staff present at the location. The employer advised in the proposal that there will still be some way for customers to contact staff virtually via intercom, facetime or some similar technology.

Below is CUPE 932’s statement regarding this proposal. This statement was read during the November Labour Management meeting and forwarded to the employer for inclusion in the minutes for that meeting. The statement was already read during the November General Membership Meeting.

To HPL Board Members and Management:

 

Please do not take our silence as a sign of agreement regarding your plans for the Rural Branch Model.  We were so shocked by the presentation at the last Labour Management meeting, that we had to step away and digest all that you proposed.

Our concerns are many and warranted.  Your staff see the erosion of their livelihoods in the decimation of full-time jobs. They have lost hope that they’ll ever be able to support their families and communities on the reduced income and stability that result from part-time positions. It does not go unnoticed that there have been zero reductions for management staff.  Now they look to the future and see you’re proposing they can be replaced by EMPTY SPACE – branches with no staffing, limited community engagement, and unsafe work environments.

Rural branches should be open for more hours; on this we agree.  But the strength of good library service relies on good customer service, as well as access to materials.  If the rural branches are to be opened additional hours, they should be staffed for those hours, so that the library remains the hub of the community, the go-to place for face-to-face interaction with knowledgeable, dedicated staff.

What message are you sending to your staff and the community when you decide it’s more cost effective to allow theft, than to have dedicated staff working in the branch?  Do not think for a minute that when word gets out there are unmanned branches, people will not come from miles around for the free goods they can load up into their cars.

Perhaps the goal should be to open rural branches longer when the capital is there to staff them and provide the stellar customer service that HPL is known for. Why should rural customers settle for less than urban customers?

It was mentioned in the last membership meeting that RBC has approached us and was offering a special rate for various insurance services for members of CUPE 932.

If you are interested, here’s the link for more information.

UPDATE: Nov 14 – The survey is now closed. Thank you for everyone who participated.