Editorial: (Don't Worry) They're Just 'Optimizing' The Library

In the 1999 comedy “Office Space,” two consultants are hired to help a company called Initech run their daily operations more efficiently. They are known as “the Bobs,” and the company hires them to downsize and satisfy shareholders.

The Bobs engage in financial optimization and invite Initech employees into a conference room to prove their value to the company. They get rid of “glitches” in the payroll system. But the Bobs are oblivious to inefficiencies among the bosses at the company.

Library Director Michael Consiglio and Library Board President Chris Pesko, who is up for re-election in 2027, remind me of “the Bobs.” As far as the public knows, they do not intend to identify staff for layoffs. However, the optimization favored by the library director and library president, such as cutting normal library hours, barely addresses real management issues.

A “Comprehensive [Frequently Asked Questions] and Response Guide” [PDF] on “adjusting” evening hours is clear. The library does not have a “budget shortfall.” There is no “financial crisis.”

From Consiglio:

Like the Bobs in “Office Space,” the library director and the library board seem to believe that they are simply fixing glitches. The fact that the library has normally been open on weeknights until 9 p.m. was a glitch, and after May 31, that glitch will be eliminated.

The library purchased a “Thermal People-Counter” from Murphy Security Solutions to further their optimization. The counter is similar to technology that retailers like Walmart or Target use to monitor their business. With installation, it cost $4,142. It was purchased before the library board voted to reduce library hours but installed after the board shortened hours.

I do not understand how this “optimization” is good for taxpaying Elmwood Park residents. Consiglio already had usage data to make the case for reducing hours. Yet in the middle of “cash flow challenges,” the library director spent thousands of dollars.

Which begs the question: does the library intend to push for more cuts to evening hours? Or eliminate morning hours?

According to the library, reducing evening hours results in “annual payroll savings” that total $39,427. Except the library could save a lot more money if did not spend so much money on lawyers from Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins.

From May 2025 to April of this year, the library budgeted $14,000 for legal expenses. It spent $61,645. That is $47,000 higher than the budgeted amount, but KTJ partner Carmen Forte Jr. is a former library board president.

Due to this conflict of interest, the library director and library board president dare not speak a word about runaway legal expenses.

The library insists it is not in a crisis. “However, we are managing a real cash flow timing challenge created by Cook County distribution delays.” But the library director and library board have not adequately communicated the severity of this “challenge” to residents.

In the last year, the library dramatically slashed the number of books and audio visual materials that it typically purchases.

The library budgeted $40,000 for adult books. It spent only $10,591. It budgeted $9,000 for adult audiobooks. It spent zero dollars.

Thirty-two thousand dollars was budgeted for children’s books. The library spent only $14,015. It budgeted $8,000 for young adult or teen books. It spent $150.

When it came to adult materials, the library budgeted $8,000 for DVDs. It spent only $2,004. The library budgeted $3,000 for video games. It spent only $350. The library budgeted $4,000 for youth audio visual materials. It spent only $72.

Zero DVDs and video games were purchased for teens, even though the library budgeted $7,000.

For a library to remain relevant to a community, it is critically important to constantly add to its collection. But the library stopped making purchases due to Cook County mismanagement, and to me, that signifies a crisis.

Also, the library director and library board believe that teenagers will not use the library in the summer so the library should close earlier. Of course, teenagers are less likely to visit if they cannot find new materials that are of interest.

“Efficiency gains” from cutting hours will supposedly go toward expanding book and media collections. However, that is misleading. The library under spent by $82,416 and would have to spend more than that amount to expand the collections, which it cannot do because of constraints created by Democrats’ mismanagement of the Cook County property tax system.

The reality is that the library’s ideas for “optimization” are too narrowly based in corporate consultant culture. To preserve access, resources, and services for all residents at all hours of the day, the library must fight for dollars from the village that are necessary to maintain a publicly funded library.

Yet so far, it is unclear if the library director and library board have the fortitude or will to engage in this kind of advocacy.

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The Elmwood Park Advocate takes the position that public libraries are vital to communities, and since the newsletter benefits from the library, it is our responsibility to speak up. We encourage you to sign this petition, and tell the library to restore normal hours.

Additionally, on Saturday, May 30, at 3 p.m. we will hold our latest “Community Conversation” in the library’s Ferrentino Room. The topic this month will focus on the importance of the library and what residents think about the library’s “management optimization” or elimination of evening hours. (RSVP here.)