Communities hire private firms to manage public libraries

COMMUNITIES HIRE PRIVATE FIRMS TO MANAGE PUBLIC LIBRARIES
[SOURCE: The Associated Press, AUTHOR: Julia Silverman]
For years, state and local governments have been privatizing certain functions, such as trash collection, payroll processing and road maintenance. Contracting with an outside company to run a library is a relatively new phenomenon, one that has been gaining in popularity as communities look for ways to save money. The practice has generated a backlash from those who argue that municipalities are employing a backdoor method of union-busting, and those who say such profit-making ventures go against the notion that libraries are one of the noblest functions of government in a democracy. Most of the 15 or so U.S. municipalities that have outsourced their libraries have signed on with LSSI, which is the biggest player in the field but is privately held and does not disclose earnings. In the past year, Texas cities San Juan and Leander, California cities Redding and Moorpark, and the Jackson-Madison County library system in Tennessee have become LSSI clients.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071005/a_libraries05.art.htm