Financial Management Practices in National Libraries

Abstract

The Conference of Directors of National Libraries undertook during 1989 a survey of financial management practices within national libraries. The aim was to identify and document current trends and practice in: national library funding; financial management information systems; costing and pricing; cost recovery and performance measurement, in order to provide assistance to colleagues attempting to resolve financial management issues. The major source of national library resourcing remains central governments and the general picture of funding is sombre. A majority of respondents reported charging for services both to individual users and to other libraries, although the detailed findings revealed in some national libraries a financial management infrastructure that was less developed in commercial terms than this would suggest.