For immediate release | October 4, 2010

91´«Ã½ responds to New York Times article on privatization

91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – On Sept. 26, 2010, The New York Times published an article entitled “.” The article focused on , also known as L.S.S.I., a private company based in Maryland. The L.S.S.I. has “taken over public libraries in ailing cities…,” but “has been hired for the first time to run a system in a relatively healthy city, setting off an intense and often acrimonious debate about the role of outsourcing in a ravaged eonomy.”
The L.S.S.I. runs 14 library systems and operates 63 locations, making it the fifth largest library system in the country.
L.S.S.I. CEO Frank Pezzanite was quoted in the article as saying: “A lot of libraries are atrocious. Their policies are all about job security. That’s why the profession is nervous about us. You can go to a library for 35 years and never have to do anything and then have your retirement. We’re not running our company that way. You come to us, you’re going to have to work.”
91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) President Roberta Stevens and the 91´«Ã½ Public Information Office were quick to respond to Pezzanite’s comments. A was submitted to The New York Times that discussed the value of library staff and the 91´«Ã½’s opposition to shifting policy making and management oversight of library services from the public to the private sector.
The New York Times published 91´«Ã½’s response in the newspaper’s print and Web editions. More than 950,000 newspaper subscribers and 19.2 million unique Web visitors had access to 91´«Ã½’s response.
For more information on the 91´«Ã½’s position on privatization of library service please visit .
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