§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Minister for the Arts what he is doing to assist library authorities in developing management costing systems.
§ Mr. LuceI am very glad to announce the publication today, as No. 17 in the Library information series, of "A 21W Costing System for Public Libraries". This report sets out the basis of a costing system that will, I believe, be of real value to librarians and the authorities they serve.
Nowadays the public sector has to show that it uses the taxpayer's and ratepayer's money efficiently and effectively, so good cost information is essential. I hope that the report will engage the commitment of the library service to a sustained and systematic process of reviewing and improving its management techniques and thus its service delivery. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of Parliament.