Harvard College Library Announces Layoffs
On June 30, ten employees of the Harvard College Library system, one of the systems of libraries at Harvard University, will lose their jobs and 8.5 vacant positions will be closed. Workers were notified Monday of the layoffs.
“Half of our budget is made up of staff compensation. It was almost impossible for us to move forward without doing something there,” explained Beth Brainard, spokeswoman for the libraries.
Many libraries have already taken many cost-saving measures, like cancelling journal subscriptions and reducing hours.
(Harvard has more than 90 libraries. Before you start wondering about whether I have a job, remember that I don’t work in a library. I’m the librarian for one of the news offices. I appreciate the concern, though.)
Addendum 1/29: “Only a churl would juxtapose Monday’s report in the Harvard Crimson that Harvard is eliminating 18 librarians’ jobs with the Globe story earlier this month about the $107 million payout to six investment managers at the Harvard Management Co.” writes columnist Alex Beam in The Boston Globe.
