I have written a number of times about the huge changes being made at many libraries today as the technology changes rapidly. Today's New York Times has an interesting article about changes in Library management. Many cities are now outsourcing the management of their libraries.
David Streitfeld writes in the Times:
David Streitfeld writes in the Times:
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.
You can read the full story at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/27libraries.html
My thanks to Jeri Steele for telling me about this story.
