A CHAT WITH - executive director of the Jackson-Madison County Library Thomas Aud
Source: By AETNA SMITH, Jackson Sun, April 17, 2006
Thomas Aud, executive director of the Jackson-Madison County Library, can see the irony of the situation. When he and the staff responded to a bid to provide library services, they were in effect applying to keep their own jobs, Aud said. With the board's decision to consider outsourcing library services, the library staff is directly competing with two private firms - Information International Associates from Oak Ridge and the Maryland-based Library Systems and Services. By July 1, the Library Board plans to have chosen a bidder.
........ In February, board members announced they'd consider outsourcing for budget reasons. The library is jointly funded by the city of Jackson and Madison County. The 2005-2006 operating budget is about $935,000; 70 percent is spent on personnel. Now that some have called into question whether the library board has legal authority to outsource, the Madison County Commission has voted to ask a judge to clarify the board's powers under state law.