Notes and Whatnot on "A Look at Public Library Management Outsourcing"

Public Libraries.  Volume 51, number 3.  May/June 2012.

Two variations:

1. Administrative.  Library contracts with a vendor to manage the library temporarily.  (Broadly speaking, I suppose this variation could include my experience as Interim Director at the Portage Public Library, Sep-Nov 2009, and Menasha Public Library, Mar-Jun 2011.)
2. Organizational.  Municipality outsources all library staff, not just the director.  (And not necessarily on a temporary basis.)

Management contracts

• Generally 3 to 5 years in length
• Renewable

Contractor responsibilities

• Library staffing
• No longer municipal employees
• Placed in limbo, staff are "encouraged" to apply
• Contractor does the hiring
• Library's daily operations

What remains in place

• Library board
• Status as a public library

I decided to reformat Table 1 on page 43.

All but 3 are located in California, Tennessee, and Texas.

Missing from or needing to be added to the Public Library list.

• (2005)  Sam T. Wilson Public Library, Arlington, TN 
• (2011)  Collegedale Public Library TN
• (2013)  Moreno Valley Public Library CA
• (2013)  Palmdale City Library CA
• (2013)  Simi Valley Public Library CA
• (2013)  Sumter County FL (Coming soon!  See below.)

By way of comparison, there are 8,951 public library administrative units and 16,417 stationary outlets, i.e., central libraries and branches, in the United States.  (Source:  Institute for Museum and Library Services, "Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2010", which is the most current edition.)

Contracting process

1. Request for proposal (RFP)
• describes expected services, e.g., 
• programming
• processing materials
• re-shelving materials
• hiring staff
• strategic planning
• provides assessment criteria
2. Submission of proposals*
3. Evaluation of proposals

*Unless there is a counter proposal from the staff, municipalities can expect just one proposal to be submitted.

Library Systems and Services LLC currently has a monopoly on the outsourcing of libraries marketplace.

The article concludes with a series of recommendations

1.  For library staff that wish to participate in an outsourcing contract

• Work closely with municipality in preparing RFP.
• Specify clearly services to be provided and the expected level of each service

2.  For library staff that would like to submit a counter proposal in response to an RFP for library management contracting

• Review carefully other outsourcing documents (public records)
• Master the language used on proposals
• Emphasize the benefits of being a public entity, of local management

3.  For library staff that wish to resist a potential outsourcing of library management and staff  (what follow is "in so many words")

• Build strong relationships with elected and appointed officials.  (This, of course, needs to be done well before the outsourcing wolf comes to the door.)
• Strive to make your library the heart of its community.  (Ditto)

In the final paragraph, the author notes that.... 

What seemed like a stalled trend in early 2010 now appears to be a swiftly growing phenomenon.

Since this article was published in 2012, 4 public libraries have been to LSSI's roster, 3 of them in California.   

LSSI's contract with the Sumter County Board of Commissioners took effect on October 1, 2013.  You might find the "budget impact" information enlightening.

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Related posts:
Millington to LSSI: Take these chains and set us free.  (12/7/2012) 
LSSI walks back its UK target.  (11/28/2011)
For-profit, privately run public libraries: anecdotal vs. actual evidence. (7/27/2011)
Santa Clarita Mayor eventually trumpets the library's LSSI connection.  (7/4/2011)
Bill passed by California Assembly sets up roadblocks to public library privatization. (6/4/2011)
LSSI's fairly pathetic track record.  (3/4/2011)
Camarillo sez goodbye to Ventura County, hello to Library Systems.  (10/26/2010)
Privatizing @ your library.  (9/27/2010)
Outsourcing, Volunteers, and LMMC.  (1/22/2010)

Millington to LSSI: Take These Chains and Set Us Free

Photo source:  Library Technology

Millington library wants to end contract with private operator. (Memphis Commercial-Appeal, 12/3/2012)

Summary:  Millington contracted with LSSI in 2005 when the City of Millington took over control of the library from Shelby County, which "boasts" but doesn't, apparently, fund libraries.

The Milington Public Library is now chafing at LSSI's restrictions -- what the chair of the library board calls the company's "cookie-cutter" approach to managing libraries.

Library staff, for example, can't purchase certain books because they are not on LSSI's "approved list".  What kind of nonsense is that?

Staff are also required to buy equipment from LSSI-specific company, even if a better price is available elsewhere.   A little back-scratchin' goin' on.

Related posts:
LSSI walks back its UK target.  (11/28/2011)
For-profit, privately run public libraries: anecdotal vs. actual evidence. (7/27/2011)
Santa Clarita Mayor eventually trumpets the library's LSSI connection.  (7/4/2011)
Bill passed by California Assembly sets up roadblocks to public library privatization. (6/4/2011)
LSSI's fairly pathetic track record.  (3/4/2011)
Camarillo sez goodbye to Ventura County, hello to Library Systems.  (10/26/2010)
Privatizing @ your library.  (9/27/2010)

LSSI Walks Back Its UK Target

Sort of like that 250,000 new jobs campaign promise.

U.S./LSSI Public Library Status Report

LSSI 'revises UK targets'. (The Bookseller, 11/28/2011)

Excerpt: American library management firm LSSI has retreated from its target of managing 15% of UK public libraries in the next five years, according to a report in today's Independent.

The Maryland-based firm, which runs over 70 libraries [17 public library systems and 69 branch operations] in the US, entered the UK market earlier this year. However chief executive Brad King said: "It has not been easy and we're still waiting to see if the UK is ready yet for the idea of library privatisation." The company is currently revising its targets for next year, and will not set definitive figures.

When writing about LSSI, it's probably wise to note that there are 16,671 library locations in the U.S.

Outsourcing the local library can lead to a loud backlash. (Stateline, 8/1/2011) Thanks to Mark Arend for sharing.

Excerpt:    Last month, three public libraries in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita ditched the L.A. County public library system, the biggest in the nation. To save money, they turned instead to a little-known but fast-growing private competitor, the Maryland-based Library Systems and Services International (LSSI).

Hardly anyone in the general public realizes it, but LSSI, which runs 68 branch libraries in California, Kansas, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, is now the fifth largest library system in America.

I'm stickin' with the 13 library systems and 63 branch operations that LSSI notes on its website.

Public libraries in the United States

Related articles:
For-profit, privately run public libraries: anecdotal vs. actual evidence. (7/27/2011)
Santa Clarita Mayor eventually trumpets the library's LSSI connection.  (7/4/2011)
Bill passed by California Assembly sets up roadblocks to public library privatization. (6/4/2011)
LSSI's fairly pathetic track record.  (3/4/2011)
Camarillo sez goodbye to Ventura County, hello to Library Systems.  (10/26/2010)
Privatizing @ your library.  (9/27/2010)

Santa Clarita Mayor Eventually Trumpets The Library's LSSI Connection

LSSI not mentioned until 3:30.

Related post:
Ebooks, Netflix, and library building projects, part 56.  (6/8/2011)

LSSI's Youth Movement

LINK

Bill Passed by California Assembly Sets Up Roadblocks to Public Library Privatization

Make it hard to privatize libraries, California Assembly says.  (Sacramento Bee, 6/3/2011)

Excerpt:  Despite strong opposition from Republicans, the Assembly narrowly passed a union-backed bill to make cities and counties blow through a series of roadblocks before they can privatize their libraries.

Under Assembly Bill 438, library systems would have to:
• pick a contract after a competitive bidding process.
• give four straight weeks of public notice before enacting a change, doubling the current requirement.
• prove through a broad analysis that a switch away from the free public library system saves the city or county money.
• show that the cost savings are not simply a factor of lower pay for the private company's employees.
• require an audit before hiring a library contractor charging more than $100,000 a year.
• ensure that the public employees don't lose their jobs.

National contractor Library Systems & Services, which already runs some libraries in the state, and the Service Employees International Union engaged in dueling lobbying efforts on the measure.

Both the League of California Cities and Republicans in the Assembly said the state shouldn't be interfering with local issues. They also said local officials already trying to save money through library sell-offs likely would drop their efforts if this bill became law later this year. The bill would also touch renewals of existing contracts.

Related articles:
LSSI's fairly pathetic track record.  (3/4/2011)
Camarillo sez goodbye to Ventura County, hello to Library Systems.  (10/26/2010)
Privitizing @ your library.  (9/27/2010)

LSSI's Fairly Pathetic Track Record

California libraries targeted for takeover by private equity firms. (Boing Boing, 3/4/2011)

But I wouldn't get too concerned.

Here's LSSI's track records after 30 years of operation.

Public libraries in the United States

Source:  Institute of Museum and Library Services, "Public Libraries in the United States. Fiscal Year 2008".

Source:  The New York Times, "Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries", September 26, 2010.

Related article:
Camarillo sez goodbye to Ventura County, hello to Library Systems.  (10/26/2010)

In Business for Nearly 30 Years, LSSI Operates 0.38% of America's Public Libraries

LINK

Public libraries in the United States

Source:  Institute of Museum and Library Services, "Public Libraries in the United States. Fiscal Year 2008".

Source:  The New York Times, "Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries", September 26, 2010.

Camarillo Sez Goodbye to Ventura County, Hello to Library Systems

LINK

Link to October 25 Los Angeles Times article, "Private company to take over Camarillo's public library".

Excerpt: In Camarillo, city officials cast themselves as victims of their own success. Their showplace library drew more patrons than the smaller one it replaced in 2007 but, as a result, the fees they paid to be part of the county's system increased. Unable to negotiate lower rates, Camarillo turned to the private company, which promised savings of about $700,000.

"We wanted better budget and operational control, a better say over what we were purchasing for the collections," said Bruce Feng, Camarillo's city manager. "And the savings can only help everyone."

Santa Clarita officials, too, felt they were giving a lot more to their county system than the county was delivering in library services. It was especially unfair, said assistant city manager Ken Striplin, because Santa Clarita residents pay a special library tax.

The switch will save the city $1.2 million, Striplin said, "the vast majority" of it from no longer having to contribute to library workers' county pensions.

Stevens, of the American Library Assn., was skeptical. "It's a great sales job," she said, "and cities are falling for it."

Uh...not that many yet.

Library Services customer base:  15 administrative units and 67 locations.

U.S. public libraries:  9,221 administrative unites and 16,671 locations.

Privatizing @ Your Library

You want insulting, demeaning, condescending, and self-serving all in a 58-word quotation?   

A lot of libraries are atrocious.  Their policies are all about job security. That’s why the profession is nervous about us. You can go to a library for 35 years and never have to do anything and then have your retirement. We’re not running our company that way. You come to us, you’re going to have to work. -- Frank Pezzanite, LSSI chief executive.

 
Link to September 27 New York Times article, "Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries".

Excerpt: SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A private company in Maryland has taken over public libraries in ailing cities in California, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, growing into the country’s fifth-largest library system.

Now the company, Library Systems & Services, has been hired for the first time to run a system in a relatively healthy city, setting off an intense and often acrimonious debate about the role of outsourcing in a ravaged economy.

A $4 million deal to run the three libraries here is a chance for the company to demonstrate that a dose of private management can be good for communities, whatever their financial situation. But in an era when outsourcing is most often an act of budget desperation — with janitors, police forces and even entire city halls farmed out in one town or another — the contract in Santa Clarita has touched a deep nerve and begun a round of second-guessing.