[Publib] materials' budgets?

[Ainslie, Karen]

Kate:

I tried to discern this kind of figure when preparing a talk for public
librarians on preparing the annual budget. This information is not
readily available. So I had to put data into a spreadsheet to get the
percentages. Based on a sampling of libraries I found a spread like the
following looking at annual statistics in my area:

Personnel:  60% to 70%
Materials:  15% to 20%
Supplies: 10% to 25%

There are a number of variables, including size of libraries, assessed
value/tax rate that determines library's income to operate, and
population served. So you may want to determine similar figures for your
area, and certainly include per capita information. This should help
inform the decision on how to allocate the budget among the categories.

Karen Ainslie
Public Library Consultant
Indiana State Library/Library Development Office
315 West Ohio St. Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-1938
IN Toll Free (800) 451-6028
Fax 317-232-0002
www.in.gov/library 





-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of katem at twcny.rr.com
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 3:27 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] materials' budgets?


Hello,

Is there some conventional wisdom about what percentage of the library's
operating budget should be going to materials? (as opposed to using
whatever is left once you've paid for staff, utilities, supplies, and
all the other things we can't manage without!) 

thanks,
kate


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