Victory! Ventura City Council Votes to Stay with County Library System

The Ventura City Council voted 5 to 2 last night to stay with the County Library System. This is a victory for Ventura residents and supporters of the Public library system who said NO to library privatization. 
“I’m glad the Council listened to its constituents and voted to stay in the County system. The community spoke loud and clear and we want to keep our libraries public.” 
Shannon Abramovitch, Eastside Ventura Resident and SEIU 721 Member

The Council’s vote came after a rigorous library process that included hiring a consultant, a survey that received 2,300 responses, community forums, several library steering committees and library advisory meetings and hundreds of one-on-one interviews.
SEIU Local 721 applauds Ventura library patrons and residents for pressing the city to keep the process open and transparent. The Council heard from 20 public speakers and the majority of them supported keeping the libraries with the Public County System.
Unfortunately, another Ventura County Library System member, the City of Simi Valley, has been working to rush a vote to privatize its library. Follow SEIU Local 721 on Facebook for updates.
Related media coverage: Council votes to keep Ventura in county library system (VC Star)