Public libraries were never meant to be reduced to buildings full of books.
The Timberland Regional Library system is moving forward with layoffs of 61 frontline workers and shifting some branches toward reduced or unstaffed access across five counties. Many people in our communities still don’t realize how significant these changes are.
Andrew Carnegie didn’t fund libraries just to put up buildings. He created a model where communities committed to keeping them alive — staffed, accessible and serving people every day. It was a social contract: communities invest in people, and people invest in themselves.
That only works if libraries stay open, staffed and accessible to everyone. Remove any one of those, and the system breaks down.
A library without staff isn’t access. It’s storage.
The people being laid off are not optional. They are the ones helping with job applications, literacy and basic access to information. Removing them isn’t efficiency — it’s dismantling the very function of a public library.
If the system is facing a deficit, the public deserves to know why solutions are falling first on frontline staff rather than examining administrative decisions and priorities.
Public service should prioritize responsible stewardship of resources and commitment to the community. When that doesn’t happen, people notice.
This isn’t just about staffing levels. It’s about whether we still have a public library system—or just buildings with books inside.
Jen Rinehart
Olympia
