Administrative Effectiveness : Times and Costs of Library Operations

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Abstract
The kinds of information needed by managing librarians to make correct decisions are considered, with emphasis on the value of current data on the exceptional situation. Manage ment information in a library is of greatest use in comparison, either internally, or with data from other libraries. A simple, standard method of recording and costing is urged, so that librarians may readily identify procedures requiring improvement. Development of the present costing method is traced from its original state as a simple management information system based on exception reporting (i.e. reporting the exceptions which occur in any particular survey), through a pilot study in a large university library, to its full installation in two further university libraries. The method of analysing the raw data is described, and examples of the tables are given, together with brief background information on the libraries concerned. After a note on the limitations of the present costing method and of unit costs in general, unit times and costs are given for numerous operations in both the libraries surveyed, covering both reader and technical services. There is agreement between results of several American studies and those of the present investigation. For further comparison, the information on times and salaries has been used in conjunction with a standard civil service costing procedure. Finally, it is shown how far the system has achieved its original aims, and recommendations are made for the development of a ready-made costing method for librarians using suggested statistical units of work.

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