•
, eam1n ,
and
•
ec1a
and
by Doris Small Helfer
he corporate trends of
downsizing and reengineering that began in the
1980s have profoundly affected corporate libraries.
Along with the act of
downsizing came the trend to outsource
many positions and services traditionally
performed by permanent employees. Company management felt that reducing the
permanent head count and thus overhead
costs through outsourcing would be more
cost-effective, efficient, and allow greater
flexibility. However, that assumption did
not always prove true.
Actually, librarians have used outsourcing
for years and have found it quite effective
· when done correctly. In some organizations,
the only way to hire additional personnel is
: by using temporary workers. When I
. worked in a high-tech company, it was clear
: there would be no additional library employees hired on a permanent basis. However, the budget did have money for in: terns, part-time workers, and temporary
· help. While, ideally, I might have liked having to train oply one permanent person to
· help with the heavy workload, adding permanent staff was not realistic in the throes
: of constant reorganization and downsizing.
· Only by outsourcing projects or hiring ei: ther an intern or a temporary worker, would
Doris Small Helfer is science librarian at Caljfornia State University, Northridge. She received her Master's in Library Sciencejrom Western Michigan University and her Bachelor's
if Arts' degree from Caljfornia State University, Northn'dge. Pn'or library experience includes
NCR Teradata, RAND Corporation, and University if Southern California Law Center.
26 lnformaNon OuMoo~ • December 1998
I get additional help. Since we had money
available for student jobs, I knew the company wanted to attract young employees
into the organization,. Based on my
knowledge of the corporation and where
budget money existed, I found I could both
get the job done by hiring a temporary student worker and earn bonus points with
my boss for helping implement the company's pro-student worker policy-two victories for me.
Alternatively, the Apple Corporation library offers another lesson. During Apple's
growth period, the Apple library grew at its
pinnacle to nearly twenty employees. However, when the corporation faced severe financial crisis, they eliminated the library
despite the high regard the users felt toward the library. No library-no matter
how exceptional-will thrive when the organization they serve hits dire financial
straits. It's simply an economic reality. Any
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• company going through tremendous
· downsizing will consider cutting workers
• from all departments.
Unfortunately, the corporate library is a
. large tempting target for managers who
• need to make cuts in head count and bud. get expenditures. Apple management knew
• information demands in the downsized
· company might shrink, but they would cer• tainly not go away. Today, Apple uses out• side library consultants to get information,
· or alternatively, employees must find the
• information for themselves. The informa. tion costs that come from outside consult. ants are absorbed within various depart• mental budgets and are no longer traceable
. as separate library expenditures. For exam• ple, the legal department will now pay di. rectly for the costs of their legal materials.
• In the end, managers pressured to make a
• certain percentage of cuts could state they
. ~aved the company the total expenditures
• for library personnel and materials, when
· in reality the savings would be less than
• they appeared.
Lessons Learned
Librarians frequently view outsourcing
· as a threat to their existence and, given
• what happened to the Apple Library and
· other bygone corporate libraries, we can
. understand why. Libraries need to learn
• from what happened to the Apple library
· and stop making themselves budget cut tar• gets. The large corporate library as we
· have known it in the past will increasingly
• not exist, but despite this trend, librarians
• may still prosper. More and more librarians
. will work within specialized departments or
• company teams in order to help with re. search and information needs. Greater inte• gration into the company's operations may
· help management better perceive the valu. able contribution of these professionals to
Information OuNoo~ • December 1998
27
Librarians who
become part of teams,
especially where they
can use and show
their exceptional
research skills, may
thrive more than
librarians who stay in
the corporate library.
28
lnformaNon OuNoo~ • December 1998
the company. Additionally, librarians work- therefore not help with company and other
ing within departments are more likely to sensitive information. As contractors, they
have consistently secure funding. As well, are not allowed or trusted with sensitive
information costs will be borne by the peo- company information. This is certainly anple who are actually using the services. All other drawback and limitation to the outtoo frequently in the older model of corpo- sourced employee. Since they are not alrate libraries, one department carries the lowed onto teams, they can't demonstrate
entire burden of a company's information their research skills and therefore will not
expenditures. As a result, the department get the promotional opportunities permahead who ends up with the expenditures nent employees might. They will not be
usually complains about why their depart- able to help the company the way an emment must pay for everyone's information ployee with such research skills could on
needs and makes those expenditures tar- those teams.
gets when budgets cuts are needed. People
Outsourcing has been the topic of disare willing to pay for their information cussion for many articles and many presenneeds, but are not usually generous enough tations in the library profession since the
to pay for everyone else's.
1980s. Most of the articles offer dire proLibrarians who become part of teams, nouncements about the closing of various
especially where they can use and show libraries or information centers and predictheir exceptional research skills, may thrive tions of doom for what such closures boded
more than librarians who stay in the corpo- for the future of libraries. Strangely though,
rate library. I know several librarians in little fanfare was heard when those corpomajor corporations, who, although are no rate libraries quietly reopened or hired outlonger classified as librarians, are essential- side consulting frrms to run the library.
ly doing research in marketing and other · 'IJpically, the outside consulting firm turns
pivotal areas for their corporations. What's around and hires librarians to run the limore, their salaries are considerably higher brary. Sometimes the company responsible
as "researchers" than they were as "librari- for hiring all outside consultants for the
ans". One colleague working for a major corporation may also hire library personnel.
high-tech corporation told me there are This is so because smart and knowledgequite a large number of librarians who've able personnel firms know about the speworked their way into all levels of the cor- cialized education and abilities required to
poration because of their library and re- effectively run a library. If the outsourcing
search skills, but who are not considered or company does not recognize such requireeven known to be librarians, except among ments, the library may run poorly for a
themselves. Her company, by the way, still while, and will continue to do so unless
has numerous corporate libraries and li- they hear a large number of complaints
brarians in a wide variety of locations, so from employees. Obviously, if employees do
this trend is not mutually exclusive.
not get what they need, those libraries are
In addition, librarians doing good work at risk of being closed. Giving customers
within teams are more likely to survive what they want and need, and making sure
downsizing, unless the entire project or management is aware your customers are
team they are working with gets cut. There getting what they want and need, are the
are certainly no guarantees for any employ- best ways to ensure a library's survival.
ees in the working world today. Dispersing
Does it matter much if the librarian
librarians into teams and throughout the works directly for a company or for a conorganization also helps increase librarians' sulting fum that works for the company?
subject specialty skills by allowing them to Probably the main difference to employees
concentrate on one subject area. The down is their salary and benefits package. When
side is they may not be known as librari- the recession of the early 1990s was in full
ans, which is not good for our profession, swing, displaced workers took jobs without
especially if resumes require disguising li- benefits out of necessity. However, in the
brary background.
current robust economy, librarians can most
Outsourced employees are typically not likely find jobs with benefits. For this artiinvited to participate in teams and can cle, I interviewed several library agencies
that provide librarians to companies. Many
stated that as the economy heated up, the
demand for librarians increased and they
added benefits packages to remain competitive and to retain qualified people. Again,
the life of librarians merely followed the
larger trend. No one is immune from the
law of supply and demand. As demand for
librarians rise and supplies become scarce,
salaries and benefits will generally rise. Librarians who prefer the stability of a fulltime job will more easily find such positions
in a more robust economy.
:
·
:
:
.
:
:
Outsourcing Will Persist
Employers find outsourcing an easier
way to add or eliminate people as situations and economic conditions change.
Employers assert it is difficult to terminate
employees without proof of obvious gross
violations or negligence on an employee's
part. Even then many employers fear employees will sue for wrongful termination.
Hiring consultants can help employers
keep more flexibility in dealing with
changes in a company's human resource
needs and conditions and eliminate concerns regarding termination and lawsuits.
Employers may also hire contract employees on a full-time basis after evaluating
their performance as consultants.
Although not often acknowledged within corporations, downsizing sometimes
helps managers eliminate low performance
or problem employees without fear of lawsuit. By attributing cuts to reducing costs
and returning the company to profitability,
rather than for any specific reason, management makes it difficult for an employee
to prove wrongful termination. Contract employees will never get offered buy-out packages on the condition they sign a waiver
agreeing not to sue.
.
:
.
:
:
:
Insourcing
While outsourcing might provide some
employers greater flexibility in hiring and
firing, it has a downside as well. Contract
employees have no loyalty and commitment .
to the company, just as the employer has no
commitment to them. This tends to make
employee turnover higher and doesn't typically allow for the establishment of a longterm corporate memory or loyalty to the organization. More resources must go into
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training new employees ·and maintaining
extremely detailed and user-friendly documentation and procedures on how to do the
job. Even with effort, the transient nature
of contract employment can lead to inconsistency and variable work quality.
Another drawback for employers occurs
when contract librarians can not handle
sensitive internal documentation. Separating the handling of sensitive company reports and materials from other information,
just to accommodate the limitations on contract employee access, may end up isolating
important information from full information
flow in a company. Contract librarians may
not be allowed into those important company meetings where they could provide significant insights into new projects or supply
information needed to make better informed decisions. This factor became a significant reason for the decision of Sun Microsystems to insource their outsourced library and librarians.
The Sun Microsystems library was an
outsourced operations from its inception,
since Sun viewed any function not directly
core to the mission as an outsourced function. As information needs and the company grew, the librarian hired to administer
the Sun library tracked whenever their contractor status blocked them from helping
Sun employees. Some potential library clients could not discuss any issues with them
because they were not part of the team. "By
documenting 'failures' of outsourcing, we
created an argument for insourcing", said
Cindy Hill, the head librarian at Sun. They
also tracked the bottom line and continually
analyzed costs of keeping a service inhouse vs. outsourcing it. "Instead of counting the number of books circulating, we
would identify and measure how that circulation (which equals use) helps the users, "
said Cindy Hill. They established good relations with potential financial supporters at
Sun and proved how they added value to
daily and long-term operations.
Sun's library is also located in the middie of Silicon Valley and its booming economy. Given the competitive market for librarians that developed, the outsourcing agency
could not undercut Sun's cost by hiring
staffers at much lower rates. All the fulltime outsourced staff had full benefits in
order to continue to attract talented people.
: When Sun looked at whether or not to insource the library, the library provided critical information proving it was more cost-effective than continuing to pay a large management fee to an outsourcing agency on
top of other library costs.
The Bottom Line
These varied stories all teach librarians
to keep their eyes and good management
sense focused on the bottom line. We
should constantly evaluate costs and use
outsourcing when it is financially and/or
politically the best way to get the job done.
Staying aware of the fmancial and political
realities of the organization in which you
work is critical to the library's success.
Don't be afraid to market yourself and let
management know about your successes in
narrative and not just statistical ways.
Don't be afraid to suggest to management
that you and/or your staff can make valuable contributions to company initiatives
and teams. It can go a long way toward
helping establish the library as a important
component to a company's success.
Bibliography
Baker, Ronald. "Outsourcing in Riverside
County: Anomaly, Not Prophecy," Library
· journal, 15 March 1998, pages 34-37.
Dinerman, Gloria. "The Angst of Outsourcing," Jrlformation Outlook, April 1997,
pages 21 -24.
Helfer, Doris Small. "The End of the
Road for the Corporate Library - Or Is It?,"
: Searcher: The MagazineJor Database Pro: Jessionals, January 1998, pages 14-16.
Helfer, Doris Small. " Insourced or Outsourced: A Tale of 1\vo Libraries," Searcher:
The Magazine Jor Database Prqfessionals,
September 1997, pages 68-70.
Helfer, Doris Small. "Not Your Traditional Librarian Anymore," Searcher: The Magazine Jor Database Prqfessionals, May
1997. pages 66-67.
Hill, Cynthia. "Insourcing the Outsourced Library: The Sun Story, Library
· journal, 1 March 1998, pages 46-48.
Portugal, Frank. Exploring Outsourdng:
Case Studies qf Corporate Libraries. Washing· ton, DC, Special Libraries Association, 1997.
Wordsworth, Anne. "Outsourcing: A
Tempest in a Teapot," Library journal, 1
March 1998, page 46.
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Information OuNoo~ • December 1998 29