National Library bosses have admitted to their staff that do not know “anything” about how the forced merger of “back room” functions with other Canberra cultural institutions will work.
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But the claws were out between the institutions just hours after the move went public on Monday morning.
Senior National Library staff were told on Friday evening the government would try to save $2.4 million over four years by merging shared services of the National Gallery, National Library, the National Archives, the Film and Sound Archives, the National Portrait Gallery and Old Parliament House.
National Library Director General Anne-Marie Schwirtlich told her staff that she did not know how the savings would be made, how they would be divided between the institutions, what backroom functions would be merged, or what would happen beyond the four-year forward estimates period.
“We do not know which back office functions,” Ms Schwirtlich wrote in an email early this morning.
“The Ministry for the Arts has indicated that we also do not know how the savings ($2.4m over the four years) are to be apportioned between the agencies and over the four years (nor what will happen in out years).”
Assistant Director-General Margy Burn was also in the dark about key aspects of the plan when she emailed colleagues this morning.
“I doubt anyone knows anything yet about how this will be made to work - we can expect some kind of cross portfolio group to work on the detail I should think,” Ms Burn wrote.
But looking on the bright side, the senior NLA manager noted the Library had managed to steer clear of scandal lately – unlike some of its counterparts around town.
“…The Library being generally regarded as high performing (no Dancing Shiva scandal; not in the papers over job losses, as NFSA has been, not facing a deficit at June 30) we are as well positioned as we can be re 'shared services' in this time of uncertainty,” Ms Burn wrote.