Recently in Library Category

Source: Mike Harris, Ventura County Star, May 11, 2012

The Simi Valley City Manager's office is recommending the City Council reject proposals to run the city's library from a Maryland company, Thousand Oaks and Ventura County. An unresolved lawsuit against the city by Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents more than 20 library employees, makes it infeasible to meet a July 1 deadline to have a new administrator take over the library, Assistant City Manager Laura Behjan wrote in a memo to the council....

....If the council -- acting as the library's board of trustees -- rejects the three proposals, the City Manager's Office is recommending the request for proposals be reissued later should the lawsuit be resolved in the city's favor. The county has continued to temporarily run the library until the city chooses a more permanent administrator, which could wind up being the county....

Source: Christine MacDonald, Detroit News, May 7, 2012

Detroit Public Library officials want an audit of nearly $3 million in no-bid technology contracts, amid questions about the contractor's ties to a top library official. The commissioners who oversee the struggling system weren't even aware of contracts to Cubemation until about $2 million worth of work had already been approved. Nor did they know the firm had created a website for the ex-wife of the library staffer who signed the contracts.

Source: Ove Overmyer, CSEA Voice Reporter, May 2, 2012

Disparaging public library initiatives that have produced marginal results is an insult to public library administrators and staff everywhere....

The very notion of public libraries becoming private or corporately owned flies in the face of a generations-old institution. Public libraries are truly the cornerstones and anchor of every community-- even in the digital age of the Internet and books on iPads, local libraries still act as education hubs for all citizens regardless of your walk of life.

What also differentiates public libraries being run by community stakeholders from what LSSI offers is the cost of labor-- skilled workers who earn a living wage. Library workers at LSSI libraries make less and are viewed as "cheap labor." What the American economy needs right now to build strong communities are good paying jobs with benefits-- not involuntary, temporary part time positions or minimum wage employment.
See also:
- The Decline and Fall of the Library Empire
Source: Steve Coffman, Searcher, Vol. 20 No. 3, April 2012
- Privatizing Libraries
Source: Jane Jerrard, Nancy Bolt, and Karen Strege, ALA Editions, 2012
(purchase required)

Source: Sandra Emerson, Contra Costa Times, April 13, 2012

The Upland Public Library Board of Trustees has received more details on a proposal by a private company to assume management of the library. City Manager Stephen Dunn is reviewing the proposal by Maryland-based Library Systems and Services to outsource the library staff with the goal if providing more money for the library's dwindling budget...."In the proposal, it's obvious that the savings come from the fact that the private business doesn't contribute into the public employee retirement system," Dunn said.

Source: Amanda Erickson, Atlantic Cities, March 28, 2012

...The bulk of the lower costs, both for the city and LSSI, comes from cutting the benefits previously afforded to librarians. Santa Clarita's library staff has been removed from the state's pension plan, and must instead contribute to a 401K. According to the American Libraries Association, this is the main reason library staffs tend to oppose privatization......
....Then there's the question of profitability: how much is LSSI really making from these deals? No one quite knows the answer. LSSI, which got its start developing software for government use in the 1980s, will not disclose that information. It's owned by a private equity firm in Boston and has about $35 million in annual revenue and 800 employees. ....

Source: Monica Rodriguez, Contra Costa Times, March 20, 2012

POMONA -- After listening to residents speak in support of the Pomona Public Library and its employees Monday evening, City Council members rejected a proposal to pursue the outsourcing of library management services. Council members voted unanimously to reject the proposal.... Other speakers said outsourcing management of the library was a risky undertaking. A company could present a proposal that looked like it made financial sense in the short run but it could become an expensive move with the passage of time, residents said.

Source: American Library Association, ALA Professional Tips Wiki, 2011

Includes links to some older news articles from American Libraries and Library Journal reporting on previous specific library situations that made news headlines.
See also:
main Outsourcing page

Source: Kojo Nnamdi Show, Thursday, March 8, 2012

Cash-strapped communities across the country have outsourced services ranging from trash pickup to tech support. But in a trend that's sparking debate around the country, more and more cities and towns are hiring outside contractors to run their public libraries. Some see the move as a savvy way to save money, while others worry about the implications allowing a private company to take control of the neighborhood library. We explore both sides of the issue.

Source: Nathan Scharn, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 29, 2012

A proposal in Oceanside to outsource library operations to save money may be finished before it officially began, after a councilman told city administrators last week that he wasn't interested in the idea. ... In memos sent to the City Council in January, City Manager Peter Weiss said private company Library Services and Systems Inc., or LSSI, estimated it could save the city $300,000 to $400,000 annually.
Updated:
Oceanside library services to stay city-operated
Source: Nathan Scharn, San Diego Union-Tribune, March 14, 2012

Source: Paul Abowd, Mother Jones, February 15, 2012

A new "emergency" law backed by right-wing think tanks is turning Michigan cities over to powerful managers who can sell off city hall, break union contracts, privatize services--and even fire elected officials....

Gov. Rick Snyder put Louis Schimmel in charge of Pontiac last September, invoking Public Act 4, a recent law that lets the governor name appointees to take over financially troubled cities and enact drastic austerity measures....With an indefinite term and a city salary of $150,000, Schimmel doesn't answer to anyone but the governor, at whose pleasure he serves. ...Schimmel is also a former adjunct scholar and director of municipal finance at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank that shares his enthusiasm for privatizing public services. The center has received funding from the foundations of conservative billionaire Charles Koch, the Walton family, and Dick DeVos, the former CEO of Amway who ran as a Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006....The Mackinac Center is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a clearinghouse for pro-business state legislation.