The City of Santa Clarita is wrapping up system-wide hiring for every position at the Santa Clarita Public Library, as the city begins the process of moving operations of the library system “in-house.”

City staff have almost completed the “competitive” hiring process to fill the top positions, after the Santa Clarita City Council voted in January to take operation of the libraries over from a private company.

“In the long run, this will be much better for our libraries and community,” said Carrie Lujan, a City of Santa Clarita spokesperson.

Lujan said all current employees were able to re-apply for new positions, noting that three of the four top positions in the new city-managed system had been filled by former library employees who had re-applied. 

“Some of (the jobs) are new positions, some are different,” Lujan said, adding that city officials designed the roles to be able to best serve the community.

See Related: Santa Clarita City Council Votes To Take Control Of Public Library System

The City Council voted during their Jan. 9 meeting to end a contract with Library Systems and Services, LLC, and take over operations of the Santa Clarita Public Libraries.

“We’re moving operations in-house,” Lujan said. “Now all of the library staff will be city employees and adhere to our city philosophy, which among other things says that we value excellence, a humanistic approach and most of all a high level of public service.”

The private company has been managing the Santa Clarita Public Library system for seven years, after the Santa Clarita City Council voted to pull out of the Los Angeles County Public Library System.

The City Council authorized staff to proceed with the Santa Clarita Public Library transition to in-house operation and staffing, effective July 1, and to take all necessary administrative steps prior to that time to ensure readiness to serve the public as of July, according to city documents.

A city report the said move to an “in-house” operation of the libraries would save almost $400,000 in the first year.

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