There are costs associated with the acquisition, implementation, and operation of information systems beyond the price of hardware and software. As these costs sometimes account for budget shortfall, it is important to recognize problem areas and minimize their impact on the organization....

City University of New York libraries, when confronted with a university resolution requiring consolidation of the library technical services departments of the 19 colleges into one office, turned to outsourcing of cataloging and acquisitions as a step toward realizing their goal. The processes...