LIBRARY AND MONEY : COSTING AND PRICING POLICY

Aira Lepik


Abstract

The cooperation of the Estonian National Library and the British Council  - a seminar on libraries' financial problems called "Library and Pricing Policy" was organised in Tallinn on November 19 - 22 last year. The seminar was carried out by Dr. Judith E. Broady from University of Wales Department of Information and Library Studies.

The librarians from the Estonian scientific and public libraries formed the main part of the audience. They have to tackle the problems of library budget, the price of library services and pricing policy on larger scale in their everyday work. A. Lepik took part in the seminar in connection with teaching a course about marketing in library and information work which is compulsory to LIS students in the Tallinn Pedagogical University Department of Information Studies. The price of the library services occupies an important place in this course. The analysis of the rules and possibilities of the price formation process provides an opportunity to present these issues to the students on higher theoretical level and give them also practical recommendations.

The article gives a short overview on the contents of the seminar and presents different views on the costing and pricing policy in libraries. The contents of the seminar is presented from the following aspects: the ways for drawing up library budget, the costs of a library and the prices for library services, the pricing policy of a library.

The seminar contained lectures as well as discussions and workshops. The participants often felt they had gaps in their knowledge of the basics of economics and also of the English terminology. The well-composed material, presented on the seminar creates prerequisites for further discussions on this subject and it can be taken into account by planning of the development of the libraries in the future. The seminar "Library and Pricing Policy" enabled the participants to understand the complicated nature of financial decisions of a library and urged them to continue the discussion on these issues.

Estonian

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Last updated February 17, 1997
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