Kern County is considering a public-private partnership to operate its library system, aimed at enhancing services without raising taxes. Advocates, including the group Better Libraries for Kern County, argue that outsourcing operations to a private firm could lead to improved efficiency and cost savings while maintaining public ownership of the facilities. However, the proposal has faced skepticism from county unions and officials questioning the feasibility of delivering better services at a lower cost.

1. Kern mulls hiring firm to run libraries
By: Allison Gatlin
MOJAVE - As a means of providing greater resources, hours and programs to the communities it
serves without raising taxes, Kern County should consider a public-private partnership to operate the
county library system, says a coalition of citizens, business owners and taxpayers.
Representing Better Libraries for Kern County, Rachel Glauser presented the partnership option to the
Mojave Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
The organization is seeking support for the idea from other groups in order to encourage the Kern
County Board of Supervisors to consider hiring an outside firm to operate the library system.
"We want this to be considered as an option so that we have the best of both worlds, essentially,"
Glauser said. "We have a free and public space, free and public library, but we get to combine our
taxpayer-owned entity with the expertise and efficiency of a private-sector business."
Contracting with a firm to operate the libraries will provide greater services, resources and programs
at a lower cost to the county by employing private sector techniques to library management, she said.
Supporters emphasize that the arrangement is not privatization, and that the county will continue to
own the branch library facilities and materials. An outside firm would be contracted only for
operations.
Kern County libraries are funded at a per capita level below the state average, and hiring a firm will
allow the libraries to offer more, especially in outlying and smaller communities, Glauser said.
A contracted firm, using private sector practices in areas such as staffing and benefits, can be more
efficient than the government, resulting in cost savings that can be redirected to better services, said
Tracy Leach of Providence Strategic Consulting, a public relations firm hired by Library Systems and
Services LLC.
"We want to see better libraries, but we want to see it done with responsible use of tax dollars and
exploring all the options, including tapping the private sector for their expertise," she said.
Library Systems and Services LLC, also known as LSSI, is a Maryland-based firm that operates public
libraries under contract at locations spanning the country. Among the facilities it operates in California
are the Riverside County Library system, with 33 locations, as well as the Santa Clarita Public Library's
three locations and the Palmdale City Library.
Palmdale entered into a partnership with Library Systems and Services in 2012, hiring the firm to
operate its library at a time tight city budgets threatened to curtail services further.
As a result of the contract, the library extended its hours to seven days per week and brought back
programs that had been suspended.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors has not had any formal discussions on the matter of changing
the way the library system is operated, but the possibility of hiring an outside firm has generated
opposition from county employee unions and others.
Doug Clipperton, president of the Mojave Chamber of Commerce, questioned how a for-profit
company could provide more at a lower cost.
Leach said savings from such items as not offering defined pensions, which the county does, helps cut
operating costs, and reassured questioners that health benefits and salaries would not be slashed.
"It's a different operating style that's more akin to what we do in our businesses," she said. "It's OK to
look to the private sector."
The Kern County Library system includes 24 locations, five in the eastern portion of the county:
Rosamond, Mojave, California City, Boron and Ridgecrest. Like many branches in outlying
communities, none of these is open seven days a week.
Michele Carey, branch supervisor for the Rosamond and Boron branches, did not take a stand on the
issue, but said she had questions about how such an operation would affect the library services

2. offered and whether it could be a viable and long-term solution.
"There's obviously differences in how to bridge the gap between where we are today and where we
want to be," she said. "What's really down at the heart of this is what's best for the community."
Her concerns include whether Library Systems and Services could handle such a large library system
and maintain many of the beneficial partnerships it currently enjoys, such as with the seven-county
San Joaquin Valley Library System.
She asked how an outside company is able to do the same job or more at lower costs, outside of
cutting personnel costs.
"I love the libraries. Our communities desperately need them," she said.
Clipperton said the idea should be examined thoroughly, and the Board of Supervisors needs to look
very closely at how such partnerships work as opposed to the current system, "rather than just
listening to sales pitches from any one side."
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