[1] It is the first library system in the nation that turned over its entire operation to a private company.

When property tax money was diverted from libraries to schools in the early 1990s, the library system began to experience cut in hours, dwindling collections, and staff lay-offs.

All library employees, except for the county librarian, janitorial service, and landscape maintenance, work for the private company.

[2] For its success, the RCLS Management Outsourcing Program became the 1998 National Council for Public-Private Partnerships Project Award Winner.

It commemorated public, private, academic, medical and tribal libraries in Riverside County.