The private equity-owned company L.S.S.I. wants to run your library for their own profit. Their most recent target is Ventura County, California, where the public libraries are a shining example of a popular, modern library system. The company lures in city council members with promises of improved library services and streamlined operations, but their "improvements" sound like the recycled customer service gimmicks of America's corporate retail giants.

In a story in this week's Los Angeles Times, an L.S.S.I. company official brags about the use of door greeters in their libraries.

To a patron, the change to the private company can make going to the library "much more pleasurable," said Bob Windrow, the company's vice president for sales.

"In some cases, we use greeters at the door," he said. And employees are instructed in the '10-foot rule' -- saying hello and offering help if they're within 10 feet of a patron.

Even worse, L.S.S.I. does not require its librarians to have certification or training (typically, libraries require that librarians hold an M.L.S. degree - a Masters in Library Science). It's no wonder that L.S.S.I. is able to save on librarian salaries when they're hiring people who are not, actually, librarians.

The privatization of public libraries is beginning to spread throughout Southern California. These are healthy, financially sound library systems with an excellent track record of success in their communities.

Stop the privatization in Santa Clarita and elsewhere, by first signing onto our petition. You can stay involved in the local fight at the Save Our Santa Clarita Libraries Facebook page.