It appears that the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) have been busy striking a deal with the IT outsourcing firm Sopra Steria to deliver their newly won digital visa/immigration contract via 56 public libraries.
Sopra Steria have an 'interesting' record, they were recently linked to a scandal re the loss of 500,000 NHS documents and the loss of 220 jobs in their UK government business.
I suppose it's seen in library establishment circles as just another pragmatic partnership a bit like the ones with Barclays, Cisco, Halifax et al but it'll be interesting to see how this develops and whether CILIP, library users/staff and campaigners put up a fight against what many will see as another major invasion of public library space by a private interest and a further erosion of our ethos.
Sopra Steria have an 'interesting' record, they were recently linked to a scandal re the loss of 500,000 NHS documents and the loss of 220 jobs in their UK government business.
I suppose it's seen in library establishment circles as just another pragmatic partnership a bit like the ones with Barclays, Cisco, Halifax et al but it'll be interesting to see how this develops and whether CILIP, library users/staff and campaigners put up a fight against what many will see as another major invasion of public library space by a private interest and a further erosion of our ethos.
