Comment by goda90
3 days ago
Where did you get the idea it was already owned by private equity?
A public library delivers value to a community. Profit is not necessary for that, and can be argued to actually be harmful to delivering value to a community.
Efficiency might not deliver maximum value either when the community is the focus. Something taking a little more time or involving more human effort can actually be fulfilling for those doing and receiving. Firing the librarian that knows all the childrens' names so you can have a kiosk instead isn't delivering value.
> A public library delivers value to a community.
Well, a subset at best. I've moved to a new town where the sole library is available to normal 9-5 workers for three hours on a Saturday morning. I don't even know what it stocks because it just isn't open when most people would be able to use it.
Did you mean a subset at least? Your new town's library's hours are not the best.
Everyone benefits from a well-read community.
The library is owned by Samual Library Inc which is not the government or a public company.
Profit is not neccessary to deliver value, but it helps optimize it.
If someone knowing kids names is worth it people would be willing to pay more for the service. If people would rather pay less and use kiosks then that may be a better option.
Samual Library Inc is a "not-for-profit nonstock corporation ... organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes." Its bylaws prohibit distributing earnings to "directors, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in article 6 hereof." - https://samuelslibrary.net/images/about/policies-more/articl...
And you think that makes it a private equity company?
My LLC, which I ran my consulting business under, was neither a government nor a public company ... and neither was it a private equity company.
Would you consider Library Systems & Services, from the article, a private equity company?
1 reply →
You’re saying that nonprofits are the same as “private equity.” That’s an odd take.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/540...
It's a very common "gotcha" comment on HN unfortunately — latch on some specific definition of a term then dismiss anything that doesn't fit it. Not sure what we can do about it unfortunately
> Profit is not neccessary to deliver value, but it helps optimize it.
How?
You seem a bit confused. Samuels Library Inc is a tax-emempt 501(c)(3) non-profit, which is kind of the opposite of private equity.
The opposite of private equity would be public equity where the public has ownership of it.
1 reply →