Library Association Chief Opposes Government Plan to Cut Librarian Posts

Dr. Namthip Vibhavin, president of the Thai Library Association and lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, has objected to a Cabinet-approved civil service reform plan that would eliminate librarian positions as part of broader public sector restructuring. The government, led by Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilpraphan's human resources policy committee, justified the cuts by citing that personnel costs account for 70 percent of the annual budget and proposing to phase out 11 job categories as staff retire.

While supportive of civil service reform in principle, Dr. Namthip argued that eliminating specialized professional positions like librarianship is counterproductive. He noted that librarians are experts in managing knowledge, data, and information systems—comparable in importance to doctors or nurses—and that the profession has evolved significantly to encompass both physical and digital media management. He criticized the government for implementing the policy without consulting educational institutions or relevant agencies, stressing that librarians are few in number within the civil service and therefore contribute minimally to budget savings.

Dr. Namthip emphasized that Thailand has over 30,000 libraries nationwide, including approximately 800–900 public libraries and more than 150 academic institutions, each requiring at least one qualified librarian. He warned that eliminating librarian positions would harm Thailand's international reputation, particularly ahead of the planned 2029 IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Bangkok, which the Thai Library Association is bidding to host. The association is meanwhile working with professional standards bodies to elevate librarian competencies to international levels.