Library Systems & Services is a private for-profit company that manages municipal
libraries on an
outsourced basis.
It is the largest library outsourcing company in the United States. It runs 20 library systems in 80 locations. Its headquarters are in
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
[ and it also operates in the UK.][ In 1997 it began operating ]public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
systems after signing a contract with the Riverside County Library System
The Riverside County Library System (RCLS), located in Riverside County, California, United States, is a public library system composed of 35 libraries, two museums and two mobile resource vans. The RCLS is a member of the Inland Library Networ ...
in California.[ The privatization of public library services was controversial, especially with employees of the libraries, and involved replacing unionized employees with non-union employees.][ One of the ways that the company was able to save money for local governments was by offering remote ]reference librarian
The reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds ...
services to all its customers, starting in 2000.[
]
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Library Systems and Services
Service companies of the United States
Library-related organizations
Companies based in Germantown, Maryland