IU libraries reorganize, lay off 10 employees

Ten employees at IU libraries are being laid off this week — the latest budgetary issue in a summer of pay raises, tuition increases and financial cutbacks.

Seven support staff and three professional staff were told Tuesday and Wednesday their positions are being eliminated.

The University would not comment on what those positions were.

In an email sent Tuesday, Dean of Libraries Brenda Johnson informed library staff why the positions were being cut.

“The evolution of library services over the past several years has presented opportunities for our organization to innovate in ways that best meet the changing needs of our university,” Johnson said. “At the same time, we are acutely aware of the challenges we face to meet the increased demand of our services with limited resources.”

Over the past three years, IU libraries have seen budget cuts of more than $1 million. The layoffs, which Johnson described as a difficult decision, are an attempt to reorganize the strengths of the libraries.

The news came just a week after IU President Michael McRobbie received a 12 percent pay raise, increasing his annual salary to $533,120.

The timing was met with condemnation from the local chapter of Communication Workers of America, a union that represents 1,700 IU support staff.

“In a time of financial cuts, difficult decisions have to be made,” Chapter President Bryce Smedley said. “There’s no question about that. But on one hand, we’re seeing these huge raises, and on the other hand, we’re seeing 10 people getting laid off.”

If McRobbie had forgone the larger raise and accepted the same 1.5 pay increase as many IU employees are, the IU president could have then saved some of those jobs, Smedley said in a prepared statement.

“Such actions are clear examples of how Indiana University’s decision to tighten their financial belt has put the most vulnerable employees at risk while padding the incomes of those in leadership positions with enormous pay raises,” he said.

IU spokesman Mark Land said the layoffs are a result of a combination of factors, not strictly the result of budget cuts.

“The big overriding reason is the library is going through an evolution or a reorganization trying to provide better services with less money,” Land said, adding that the library is facing a $350,000 budget reduction from last year.

The positions being eliminated were selected from a staff of 270 across all IU-Bloomington libraries, not just the main Herman B Wells library. No library faculty positions will be affected.

IU libraries’ senior leadership is taking a close look at skills and positions across campus to determine which of these are no longer as critical as they had been in the past, Land said.

“Technology is really changing the skill sets that are needed to be an effective librarian,” Land said. “They’re trying to get more efficient and really focus on the skills most critical to the libraries going forward.”