Rationales for Outsourcing in Corporate Libraries

Abstract

This study clarifies how corporate libraries provide their parent organizations with adequate information in today's harsh economic environment. Outsourcing is considered to be one of the schemes by which core competence management is put into practice in corporate libraries. Before a decision to outsource is made, however, it is necessary to examine whether the outsourcing is being requested by the parent organizations not to restructure and downsize library resources, but as a strategy to promote the growth of this sector of the organization. Two case studies in the advertising industry were analyzed to verify this hypothesis. Two results were revealed. First, corporate libraries tended to use strategic outsourcing in an effort to strengthen their competitive positions by maintaining the quality of their information service to give their parent organizations satisfaction. Second, daily administrative and planning tasks were done in-house, whereas operations such as material collection, cataloging, and supply of reference services were delegated to outsourcers. This study shows that it is highly necessary for corporate libraries to train their employees as library managers, and for outsourcers to supply corporate libraries with information service providers through the systematization of human resources development programs.