The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

1988 The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025120

It is alarming that the budget technique which is almost universally criticized as ineffective is the one almost universally used by libraries. Few library managers use innovative techniques like ZeroBased Budgeting ZBB or the Planning Programming Budget System PPBS for financial management. Instead, most library budgets are just prepared on an incremental basis. In essence, this means that a constantusually an inflationary factoris applied to modify the previous year's figures. Many library managers seem to consider such budgeting to be synonymous with financial management.

Walters, Suzanne

1988 The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025121

Funding strategy is a management concept, a financial tool used by the corporate world whose eye is firmly on fixed profits and losses. One might expect the term to have little place in a world where preservation of culture and ideas is the goal. Creating a funding strategy for a public library may in fact seem alien to the image of what a library represents in our society. But the Denver Public Library DPL, at the outset of the 1980s, entered the world of funding strategies in order to survive. And not only have we survived, we have flourished. We would recommend our approach to all libraries that want to secure a healthy fiscal future, not just to those experiencing financial hardships.

Margolis, Bernard

1988 The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025122

Electronic Information Pilot Nixed for Depository Libraries. The House Legislative Appropriations Subcommittee on June 10, and the full Appropriations Committee on June 18, passed over without prejudice the Government Printing Office's request for 800,000 to get pilot projects started to test distribution to depository libraries of government information in electronic formats.

Penniman, W. David

1988 The Bottom Line Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025123

All libraries, whether in the public or private sector, operate in a competitive arena. They compete with other organizations for finite and scarce resources in a zerosum game. Unfortunately, there are winners and losers. The losers are not necessarily the organizations that have the least to offer they are often the organizations least prepared to express their value and contribution in terms understood by their funders.

Moffatt, Tim

1988 The Bottom Line Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025124

It is perplexing that the library profession, which has made such a prodigious response to changing technology and has worked ceaselessly to provide users with the best and latest information, should be lagging behind in the area of financial management. The typical background which most students bring to library studies is in the humanities. This, together with the relative dearth of coursework in administration available in most graduate library school programs, has resulted in far too many librarians assuming important fiscal responsibilities with little more than a sip from the wells of financial management education.

Murchio, Christine M.

1988 The Bottom Line Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025125

The first question a library manager should ask when deciding whether or not to automate the library's circulation function is Will an automated system help the library meet its priorities better than a manual system The next consideration is library staff. Personnel play a critical part in determining the success of any library service. And, of course, they are the library's most costly expenditure. Some questions to ask are, will an automated circulation system

Clay, Edwin S.

1988 The Bottom Line Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025126

In a scene from Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit waits nervously to testify before the Red Queen. Explaining that he has never given testimony before, the Rabbit asks for help in how to proceed. It's simple, replies the Red Queen. Begin at the beginning. Go to the middle. Come to the end. Then stop The same kind of logic applies to library fund raising from the private sector.

Curtis, Eileen A.

1988 The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025127

No matter the size of a particular network, its location, its service direction, or the number of services it provides it members, there is a common thread it shares with all other networks the aim to aid library members in obtaining the best services at the lowest price. Networks thrive on their ability to negotiate and obtain favorable discounts for library supplies purchased through cooperative purchasing programs, document delivery, archival tape services, conservation preservation training, access to online information retrieval services, etc.

Hayes, Sherman

1988 The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025128

The exponential growth of computers in all phases of library operations has brought with it need for library managers to analyze computing and related costs and to compare them with other institutions. To accurately assess internal efficiency, evaluate changes in levels of operations, or justify budget requests, comparative data are a useful tool. Computers often compete for funding against other mediums of information storage, such as the card catalog or books. Each medium deserves consistent analysis based on objective data, both internal and external, to ensure fair comparisons and sound management decisions. Managers should strive for the ideal system of cost data collection and reporting.

McGovern, Gail

1988 The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances

doi: 10.1108/eb025129

Fifteen years ago, when I became a city library director, my highest priority was to increase the percentage of city residents who used the library to 100 percent. During my first six months on the job, I did a community needs assessment and also looked at the other locally funded city services. One of the startling realizations I had was not all city services were striving for that allimportant 100 percent utilization.