OUTSOURCING AND CONTRACTING OUT

Mark Borden, Colin Evans, Kevin Fox, Benjamin Peddle

LIS 9005 – 001 – Dr. S. Roberts – September 24th,

2013

WHAT IS OUTSOURCING?

WHAT IS PRIVATIZATION?

“Privatization takes outsourcing to another level. Privatization encompasses all library services and controls not only

how services are delivered but what services are offered and delivered.”

- American Library Association, “Keeping Public Libraries Public”

OUTSOURCING VS. PRIVATIZATION

• Wikipedia

SIMCOE PLACE

• Flickr. Creative Commons.

• https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZwzcwVdcWvXpo74Lw013dnKckdKyZOE1z7DTeIWxpdyhmfgmGYg

• Can a private company maintain the level for public trust that has been earned by the local library?

• Will the library director always make the operation decisions that are in the best interest of the community, even if those decisions reduce or do not contribute to the private company’s profit?

• Does the relationship between a public library and its community change when a library is privatized?

• Does the role of the library as a public good change when the library is privatized?

- Foreword: Special Report (vii)

OFFICIALS MUST SEEK TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS WHEN CONSIDERING OUTSOURCING, CONTRACTING OUT, OR PRIVATIZATION:

• Near Fort Worth• Determined it was slightly cheaper to remain

public

• Outside of Boston• Remained public but drastically reduced staff• Relied heavily on volunteers

BEDFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY:

DARTMOUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY:

•Community services•Accountability and transparency•Community interest•Financial concerns•Professional standards and quality

AT RISK ISSUES:

• The privatization of governmental and public institution for financial gain• Some examples are Air Canada, Canadian National Railway, Ontario Hydro, Nova Scotia Power

NEOLIBERALISM

“We reduced the staffing level of our Central Technical Services from 70

librarians and staff to 29, saved $1.1 million per year, and eliminated over time every single cataloguing backlog

we had, including a large backlog labeled ‘Latin American Permanent

Backlog.’”

- Miller, “Damn the Recession”

COST-REDUCING MEASURES

• Automated services• Specialized expertise

• Digitization• “The staff members were freed

from repetitive low-level tasks to undertake new

responsibilities.” (Wood, Miller, Knapp)

TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS

CENTRALIZATION VS. DE-CENTRALIZATION

THANK YOU!