An in-depth case-study analysis of corporate library outsourcing, recently conducted by the Cabtech Inc., found that outsourcing is being approached without considering the impact on the provision of timely, accurate, thorough information. A perceived savings on corporate costs was cited as the primary reason for library outsourcing or downsizing for the majority of firms in the study. In many cases, however, issues of quality and delivery of information are obscured by this "bottom-line" mentality. Cost-savings resulting from outsourced or downsized libraries are largely a mirage, resulting from the shift in costs associated with library operations to business units. It has been proven that fully-funded and staffed corporate libraries are themselves a cost-savings measure.
Sometimes, outsourcing has benefits. Outsourcing specific activities can free up your library to focus on providing you with essential information. For example, outsourcing time consuming technical activities such as cataloging, and subscription and circulation services can save money while increasing overall efficiency without sacrificing the knowledge base of an in-house library. According to the study, outsourcing these activities has allowed librarians to expand their services into employee training on the Internet as well as building Intranets that link the company together.
Findings from Exploring Outsourcing: Case Studies of Corporate Libraries are based on extensive interviews conducted with a member of senior management responsible for the library or outsourcing contract, a frequent end-user of library services, and the corporate librarian. From an expansive list of corporations who had outsourced their library operations completely or partially, seven companies representing a range of industry type and geographic area were targeted for the study.
This 1997 SLA publication is now out of print, but is available in PDF from the SLA Store. If you have any questions please contact Carolyn Sosnowski at +1 703.647.4914
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