JCFPL Releases "Management Consultant" RFP

Staff -- Library Journal, 3/1/1999

The Jersey City Free Public Library (JCFPL), NJ, has released an RFP soliciting for a "Management Consultant" to take control of its 12-facility system. The library was the target of much external and internal criticism in 1998 when it hired the California-based firm Library Systems and Services Inc. (LSSI) to run the operation. Following a flood of negative press and legal investigations by the library union, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Arthur D'Italia voided the three-year contract and criticized the library's board for failing to allow for public discussion at the open meeting at which LSSI was appointed. To avoid a repeat of last year's fiasco, JCFPL released an RFP on February 16, a month before management operations are due to submit their proposals. The RFP mentions that the library board will occasionally assess the managers as well as appoint a "library standards monitor" and a "financial monitor" to serve as watchdogs.