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Library operator LS&S previews digital-cost pressures, contract renewal timeline
Summary
Library Systems & Services representatives told Collegedale commissioners that demand for e-content is growing and digital licenses remain costly; the city’s management contract with LS&S expires June 30, 2026, and staff flagged collection-budget pressures for next renewal.
Representatives from Library Systems & Services (LS&S) and the Katie Lamb Public Library updated the Collegedale City Commission on library operations, collection-management practices and digital-content costs during a workshop presentation.
Sue Considine, LS&S vice president for library operations, and local director Gina Mullins said the vendor’s centralized collection management delivers specialized buying, processing and analytics to maximize limited municipal collection budgets. LS&S told commissioners that e-books and audiobooks carry significantly higher per-title licensing costs than print—presenters cited average e-book purchase costs near $60 per title and higher for popular audiobook licenses—and that those costs are a major tension as the city’s materials budget stretches to satisfy both digital and physical demand.
Why it matters: LS&S said digital demand is rising and that participation in the Tennessee Reads Regional Consortium reduces some per-unit costs but increases regional holds competition. Considine said the library’s contract with Collegedale runs through June 30, 2026, and that the collection-handling fee and the collections budget are negotiated separately from the base operating fee. Commissioners asked about hold-queue mechanics and “Advantage” purchasing (titles bought for a single library’s patrons) and said they want a clearer assessment of how much additional municipal funding would increase local cardholder priority on high‑demand titles.
Library staffing and service notes: LS&S said centralized back-office services (HR, IT, marketing and collection management) allow local staff to focus on patron service; local leaders described programs to support homeschool families and early learning. Mullins and Considine also described weekly deliveries from vendors and a materials-processing flow they said reduces local staff time but draws a materials-handling fee (7.5% under the current contract, the presenters said).
Discussion vs. decisions: there was no vote or contract action at the workshop. Commissioners asked staff to gather more detail about the collections budget and the cost of expanding digital access, ahead of contract-renewal planning for FY2026.
