{"id":313216,"date":"2025-11-28T00:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T00:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/313216\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T00:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T00:12:07","slug":"state-library-of-victoria-faces-job-cuts-as-staff-accuse-management-of-pursuing-digital-vanity-projects-melbourne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/313216\/","title":{"rendered":"State Library of Victoria faces job cuts as staff accuse management of pursuing \u2018digital vanity projects\u2019 | Melbourne"},"content":{"rendered":"

State Library of Victoria<\/a> staff have accused management of undermining the 171-year-old institution\u2019s core purposes in favour of flashy tourist-oriented \u201cdigital vanity projects\u201d in a proposed restructure.<\/p>\n

Under the plan, 39 jobs would be lost and the public-facing workforce of reference librarians would be cut from 25 staff to 10, while many publicly accessible computers would be removed.<\/p>\n

According to documents provided to staff and seen by Guardian Australia, the restructure was designed around \u201cenhancing digital innovation\u201d and providing \u201ca compelling digital experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

One staff member said those \u201cdigital experience\u201d elements did not involve more digitising of collections, but focused instead on \u201cwhat many of us would describe as luxury digital experimentation\u201d or \u201cdigital vanity projects\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re telling us people want digital experimentation over public access computers and librarians and we don\u2019t believe that\u2019s true,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, most people do not give a shit about Ned Kelly\u2019s rotating three-dimensional helmet,\u201d they said, referring to a recent digital history project.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people come into the library to use a computer, to use wifi, to look something up, to ask a librarian for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the proposed restructure, information technology roles responsible for the library\u2019s core operations would be made redundant and those duties outsourced. Guardian Australia understands some roles have already been outsourced.<\/p>\n

Staff members who spoke on condition of anonymity said the proposal was \u201cout of touch\u201d and opaque. They raised concerns about how the basic functions of the library could continue under the plan.<\/p>\n

Reference librarians had been \u201crunning on the smell of an oily rag for the past 18 months\u201d, and requests to hire in vacant positions were often delayed or ignored, one staff member said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, staff were concerned basic IT tasks, such as maintaining current opening hours on the SLV website, were already falling by the wayside and would be worse with a fully outsourced team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even believe that they think that\u2019s workable, given the simultaneous desire to up their digital activity in a very complicated old building,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Staff were concerned that no public consultation had been conducted before the changes were decided upon, and that such significant changes were being implemented by acting executives.<\/p>\n

Staff said the library has been receiving significant negative public feedback on the proposal since news of cuts to jobs and services was first reported in Nine newspapers over the weekend.<\/p>\n

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Jordi Gilmour, industrial organiser with the CPSU Victoria, said the library management had not shown how the institution would properly function under their proposed restructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cStripping away core library services to instead fund vague \u2018digital innovation\u2019 functions speaks to their inexperience in how world-class libraries are run. It also isn\u2019t clear how any benefits or savings from these proposals will be realised.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth library staff and the Victorians who rely on them will suffer if these half-baked ideas are implemented. The State Library needs expert staff who know the collection\u2019s five million plus items better than any AI ever could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilmour said the acting SLV management had not met their consultation obligations under the enterprise agreement for proposed changes of this magnitude. Guardian Australia understands the CPSU has formally notified the library it is in dispute.<\/p>\n

A state library spokesperson said the library\u2019s executive had \u201cengaged and consulted extensively and in good faith with staff and the CPSU on the proposed changes\u201d and that their approach to the process was in line with their obligations under the Cultural and Creative Enterprise Partnership Agreement 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposed changes reflect the Library\u2019s strong commitment to best serving the community now and into the future,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo clarify: State Library Victoria will continue, as we always have, to provide appropriate computer access for the public to assist with research and reference activity,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Library is committed to upholding our critical role as an essential service providing free and equal access to knowledge and information.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CPSU Victoria state branch secretary, Jiselle Hanna, on Monday described the proposal as \u201cmanagement folly\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to 774 ABC Melbourne\u2019s Drive program, Hanna said: \u201cIf you\u2019re so sure that this proposal is going to be palatable to Victoria, have a public meeting \u2026 where Victorians get to have a say about the future of the State Library of Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

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