Outsourcing in Alberta

When the University of Alberta Library (UofA) faced a 15% budget cut, the chief librarian, Ernie Ingles, and the professional staff sought a creative response which would lower costs and yet maintain an appropriate level of resources and services. The focus chosen was to reduce costs, and the way to do so was through outsourcing. This was seen not as a new departure for the UofA, but as a logical extension of long-standing practices, such as having outside sources for binding and retrospective conversion. The chosen area was the cataloging and physical processing of library materials. While this might have been seen as a serious threat to the library staff and, possibly, to the quality of service, the library determined that neither was a necessary outcome.