US firm "can save county's libraries" (Oxfordshire, UK)

"Threatened libraries across Oxfordshire can be kept running with council cash if they are managed by a private company, an American outsourcing firm said. Stuart Fitzgerald, vice president of Library Systems & Services UK, said his firm could keep open some or all of the 20 branches and save millions for Oxfordshire County Council. The authority wants to remove all funding from 20 of its 43 libraries to save £2m over four years. And the council said discussions with a similar firm had not been 'promising'. It has urged volunteers to run libraries and is setting aside £600,000 for this and other 'Big Society' projects. LSSI, a 30-year-old family-run firm, manages 70 libraries across the US where it has installed self-issue technology, instant print machines, coffee shops and adult education initiatives"