Omaha Public Library Goes Private
The Omaha Public Library is being privatized by Omaha mayor Jean Stothert, real estate developers, and so-called philanthropists. In a move that destabilizes downtown infrastructure, reduces public space, transfers public property to private hands, and reallocates the City budget for private gain, these actors are stripping us of public wealth and control.
This year, Heritage Services introduced a plan for public library facilities. It’s the same group of self-appointed philanthropists and “civic leaders” that tested the process in 2015 by starting a privately-funded “technology library” that would be somehow folded into the Omaha Public Library system… and the same group that has spearheaded other “community development projects” with public funds but no public input. [See https://riverfrontrevitalization.com/]
This move drew protest by members of the public who recognized that a private organization was forming the future of a beloved public institution. As people discussed the proposals to close and relocate buildings, information showed that these private negotiations had gone further.
At one point, Heritage Services suggested that the Omaha Public Library be placed under control of the nonprofit group they organized to operate the technology library. “In a September 2020 email, Rachel Jacobson, president of Heritage Services, spelled out a timeline over the coming six years. It discussed giving new authority to the Community Information Trust organization that runs the nonprofit and philanthropically funded Do Space tech library, passing state legislation to accomplish that and merging the nonprofit trust and the Omaha Library Board.” [link]
Heritage Services has since backpedaled, claiming they do not want to privatize the library system. But they were not shy about announcing their plans to reorganize locations or proposing these so-called philanthropists would fund real estate development on behalf of the chronically underfunded library system. Private planning and private funding are private control.
In a statement, mayor Jean Stothert said, “Social media posts suggesting the Omaha Public Library system will be privatized are completely false. There is no such plan.” [link]
Unfortunately, OPL’s budget and assets are being privatized. The current plan moves the downtown branch from its current City-owned location to a privately-owned building and relocates administrative offices to a separate privately-owned building. The City will pay White Lotus Group rent for the library branch. The City will pay Frederick Square Ltd rent for the administrative offices. In this move, our City budget would be allocated to pay for-profit real estate development groups headed by Arun Agarwal and David Moritz.
The City will offer the current location to private parties for redevelopment. Will there be any public oversight to that process? In a prior instance, Mayor Stothert ran a years-long effort to convert the former Civic Auditorium site to private hands without public input, as noted in a earlier investigation. [link] The eventual developer? White Lotus Group and Arun Agarwal. [link]
In the plan being pursued by the City and Heritage Services, Omaha loses public land, public money, and public control. Private real estate groups collect rent from the City of Omaha. We end up losing land to a real estate speculator… or the site sits empty for years. And, importantly, our “civic leaders” continue to make plans behind our backs.
All of this costs more than money. We pay with our dignity, our sense of community, and our control over our lives. This is Omaha’s shame, not privatized, but on public display.
