Ongoing budget deficits at the local government level have opened the door for a private company to develop into the fifth largest library system in the United States. Library Systems & Services (LSSI) currently operates 14 public library systems in 63 locations, ranging from California to Tennessee. The privatization move has been met with opposition from residents who believe libraries should be treated like public safety operations and not taken out of the hands of the government. The company has claimed financial success in turning around ailing libraries by slashing overhead costs and replacing unionized employees.

 

For the first time, however, LSSI has been hired to operate a library system that is not experiencing dire financial difficulties. The city of Santa Clarita in Southern California has signed a $4 million contract with the company to run its three libraries, which until now had been part of the Los Angeles County library system.

 

Santa Clarita’s mayor pro tem, Marsha McLean, told The New York Times that the libraries will still be public because they will be open to the public and owned by the city.

 

LSSI is majority owned by a private equity firm, Islington Capital Partners.

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries (by David Streitfeld, New York Times)

Santa Clarita Moves to Privatize Libraries Amid Residents' Protests (by C.J. Lin, Los Angeles Daily News)