CHAPTER III

FINANCE, LOANS AND ACCOUNTS

=27. The Library Rate.=--The general library Acts passed for Ireland, Scotland and England all limit the amount to be raised by rate for library purposes to one penny in the pound on the annual rateable rental of all properties within the areas, with certain exceptions or modifications as to gardens and agricultural lands. Great doubt exists as to what is meant by a penny rate and on what value it is to be levied. Some authorities maintain that the income from a penny rate can only represent the net sum realized by a penny on the rateable value, after all deductions have been made on account of empty houses and other irrecoverable items. Against this may be set the actual practice in several places, of paying over the full sum which a penny rate on the nominal rateable value would produce, without any deductions whatsoever. As the Public Libraries Acts have placed a limitation on the amount of the library rate, it may be assumed that the libraries were intended to benefit to the full extent of the rateable value. At any rate the Acts are silent on the point, and practice differs so much that it is fair to say that a public library, because of the present limitation, and because some places now give the full product, is entitled to the full amount which a penny rate would yield when calculated on the full rateable value of the town or district, without deduction of any kind, either for unproductive properties or cost of collection. It has been decided that no deduction can be made from the income produced by the library rate on account of the cost of collection, and as this rate is now collected as part of a general or other unlimited rate, it seems unfair to saddle it with any part of the cost of collection. If it were collected as a separate rate, or with rates similarly limited by Act of Parliament, the position would be different. The difference between the amount paid over to public libraries and the actual sums which would be produced were the rate charged on the full rateable value is sometimes considerable. The losses range from over 20 to 5 per cent., and thus a considerable limit is placed upon the book-purchasing power of a large number of libraries.

=28. Unexpended Balances.=--In some places the local authority has appropriated unexpended balances of the public library rate and applied them to other local purposes. This action is clearly illegal, and could only have been taken by those who are ignorant of the decisions of the Local Government Board on the point. It is true the Acts do not specify how unexpended balances of the library rate are to be dealt with, but it is equally true that as the money was raised under a special Act for a strictly defined purpose, it cannot be diverted to any other purpose, nor can it be carried forward as a portion of the library rate for a succeeding year. No doubt the wording of the Act is responsible for the interpretation which has been put upon the section entitled “Limitations on expenditure for purpose of Act.” It reads: “A rate or addition to a rate shall not be levied for the purposes of this Act for any one financial year in any library district to an amount exceeding one penny in the pound.” The Local Government Board have decided that any unexpended balances of the library income must be carried forward to next year’s library account, without prejudice to the next year’s library income. This decision has been upheld by all the district auditors of the Local Government Board, and it is difficult to understand the reason why a few places still cling to the belief that the library rate can be further limited by this illegal procedure of appropriating unexpended balances. Committees who are threatened with this action can always protect themselves against the injustice by taking care that there are no balances to appropriate; but it will prevent them from saving a little money for necessary book purchases, cleaning or other purposes. It should be pointed out, furthermore, that the section of the Act above quoted does not really refer to the total _amount_ to be raised by rate in a given year, but only to the _poundage_ or rate which may be charged for library purposes, namely, not more than a penny in the pound. The question of the _product_ of this rate of a penny is not mentioned anywhere in the Acts, and it is this lack of clear definition--the failure to distinguish the amount of a rate from the total amount which it will produce annually--which is responsible for many of the difficulties hitherto met with in administering the Libraries Acts.

=29. Annual Estimates.=--The Scotch principal Act is the only one which requires an annual estimate or budget to be prepared by the library authority for the information of the local authority. Section 30 of the Act of 1887 provides that “The Committee shall in the month of April in every year make up, or cause to be made up, an estimate of the sums required in order to defray the interest of any money borrowed, the payment of the sinking fund, and the expense of maintaining and managing all libraries and museums under its control for the year after Whitsunday then next to come, and for the purpose of purchasing the books, articles and things authorized by this Act,” etc. This estimate has to be submitted to the local authority, who “shall provide the amount required out of the library rate to be levied by it, and shall pay over to the committee the sum necessary for the annual expenditure by it in terms of its estimate.” By the standing orders of most local authorities yearly or half-yearly estimates have to be prepared and submitted by the various committees, and as practice varies everywhere, it will be well for the library authority to follow the local practice.

=30.= Local circumstances alter the conditions materially in every place, and hitherto there has been a lack of uniformity in presenting financial statements which makes any attempt to produce a model budget to be suspect. The form of the statement is often governed by the practice of the Borough Accountant, who arranges the order of items in accordance with his own views; but wherever it is possible to do so, it would be well if the form of annual estimate conformed with the order adopted in the report made by Professor W. G. S. Adams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust in 1915, _On Library Provision and Policy_, which would arrange in some such order as in the table on page 46.

Each of these items will probably need analysis, and the order given here may be inverted; indeed, the form shown is merely meant to be suggestive and to show the nature of the information which the Council usually requires when it is considering the annual estimates.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMITTEE ESTIMATE, 1919. | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ |_Expenditure._ | +--------+--------------------------+--------+--------+--------+ | Actual | |Estimate| Actual |Estimate| | 1917. | | 1918. | 1918. | 1919. | +--------+--------------------------+--------+--------+--------+ | 1. £897|Books and Binding | £900 | £910 | £920 | | 2. £300|Newspapers and Periodicals| £350 | £380 | £380 | | 3. etc.|Salaries and Wages | .. | .. | .. | | 4. |Rent and Loans | .. | .. | .. | | 5. |Rates and Taxes | .. | .. | .. | | 6. |Maintenance: | .. | .. | .. | | 7. | Lighting | .. | .. | .. | | 8. | Heating | .. | .. | .. | | 9. | Cleaning | .. | .. | .. | |10. |Balance | .. | .. | .. | +--------+--------------------------+--------+--------+--------+ |_Income_ | | | | +--------+--------------------------+--------+--------+--------+ | 1. |From 0d. rate | .. | .. | .. | | 2. |From other sources | .. | .. | .. | +--------+--------------------------+--------+--------+--------+

FIG. 1.--Form for Annual Estimates.

=31.= The distribution of the income over the various items is again subject to local circumstances; but, thanks to the inquiry of Professor Adams, a table of comparative distribution of income drawn from the figures of about 500 library systems throughout the kingdom has been published, which gives the best information at present available. It is qualified by the facts we have emphasized in the last paragraph, and still more by the changed conditions which result from the European War, which have increased such items as salaries, and reduced the book-purchasing (and indeed every other purchasing) power of libraries considerably. We give the table of percentages of expenditure for libraries with, and without, loans, merely remarking that it may serve as a rough guide by which library committees may work. Again, the librarian, in submitting his budget for the use of his committee, will analyse the items into general administrative, central, reference and branch libraries’ expenditure, and under each will show salaries as distinct from wages paid for unskilled service; and books will be divided into “new,” “replacements,” etc.; periodicals into those filed permanently and others; maintenance charges into building expenses, furniture and fittings, stationery, repairs to fabric and furniture, and so on. The Council as a rule does not require so detailed a statement.

CLASSIFIED PERCENTAGES OF LIBRARY EXPENDITURE

LIBRARIES WITH LOAN CHARGES. +---------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------------+-----+ | | | Peri- | | | |Other Items,| | | | Books |odicals| |Rents |Rates | including | | | Income. | and | and | Sala- | and | and |Maintenance |Total| | |Binding.| News- | ries. |Loans.|Taxes.|of Premises,| | | | |papers.| | | |Light, Heat,| | | | | | | | | &c. | | +---------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------------+-----+ | £ | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |8000 | | | | | | | | | & over| 19·06 | 4·96 | 37·5 | 15·46| 2·41 | 20·58 |99·97| |4000-8000| 18·81 | 5·31 | 39·96 | 12·54| 1·81 | 21·55 |99·98| |3000-4000| 17·97 | 6·07 | 41·74 | 17·42| 1·09 | 15·68 |99·97| |2000-3000| 19·53 | 6·44 | 39·33 | 13·5 | 2·38 | 18·78 |99·96| |1500-2000| 21·09 | 6·24 | 37·87 | 13·13| 2·3 | 19·01 |99·64| |1000-1500| 19·07 | 7·43 | 37·18 | 16·47| 2·21 | 17·62 |99·98| | 750-1000| 17·58 | 7·81 | 38·97 | 10·8 | 2·22 | 22·6 |99·86| | 500- 750| 17·55 | 10·88 | 36·32 | 11·81| 3·10 | 20·22 |99·88| | 250- 500| 13·12 | 10·25 | 38·9 | 15·09| 4·00 | 18·61 |99·97| | 100- 250| 16·31 | 13·13 | 33·63 | 21·31| 3·14 | 12·45 |99·97| |Under 100| 14·32 | 16·15 | 25·84 | 24·48| 2·66 | 19·52 |99·97| +---------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------------+-----+

LIBRARIES WITHOUT LOAN CHARGES. +---------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------------+-----+ | | | Peri- | | | |Other Items,| | | | Books |odicals| |Rents |Rates | including | | | Income. | and | and | Sala- | and | and |Maintenance |Total| | |Binding.| News- | ries. |Loans.|Taxes.|of Premises,| | | | |papers.| | | |Light, Heat,| | | | | | | | | &c. | | +---------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------------+-----+ | £ | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |1000 | | | | | | | | | & over| 19·93 | 6·37 | 39·22 | .. | 2·03 | 32·43 |99·98| | 750-1000| 25·4 | 7·95 | 44·17 | .. | 3·16 | 19·29 |99·97| | 500- 750| 20·31 | 9·98 | 45·49 | .. | 3·86 | 20·23 |99·97| | 400- 500| 18·48 | 10·07 | 40·90 | .. | 5·81 | 24·6 |99·86| | 300- 400| 15·9 | 12·31 | 46·91 | .. | 2·9 | 21·9 |99·92| | 200- 300| 17·13 | 13·25 | 42·98 | .. | 4·00 | 22·61 |99·97| | 100- 200| 16·2 | 15·66 | 45·1 | .. | 2·54 | 20·47 |99·97| | 50- 100| 20·16 | 15·82 | 34·29 | .. | 5·68 | 24·02 |99·97| |Under 50 | 28·65 | 21·85 | 36·46 | .. | 2·26 | 10·75 |99·97| +---------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------------+-----+

FIG. 2.--Returns compiled from Professor Adams’ Report on Library Provision and Policy [Carnegie United Kingdom Trust], Sec. 31.

=32.= We must consider in some detail the principal expenditures to which library committees are subject.

=33. Loans.=--The Libraries Acts give fairly full instructions as to loans for public library purposes. In England under the principal Act “every library authority, with the sanction of the Local Government Board . . . may borrow money for the purposes of this Act on the security of any fund or rate applicable for those purposes.” In parishes the regulations for borrowing prescribed by the “Local Government Act, 1894,” are to apply. As a preliminary to borrowing, an inquiry is held locally by a Local Government Board inspector, who receives evidence as to proposed buildings, sites, amount required, etc., and also hears objections to the proposal. The Local Government Board print bills announcing the inquiry, and these must be posted and paid for by the library authority. At such inquiries full particulars should be prepared as to income, date of adopting Acts, etc., as well as particulars of the proposed scheme. After the inquiry is held it is generally about three months later before the sanction of the Board is received. This states the amount sanctioned and for what period the money can be borrowed for sites, buildings, furniture or books, as the case may be.

The security for loans is declared by the “Public Health Act, 1875,” Section 233, to be the “credit of any fund or all or any rates or rate out of which they are authorized to defray expenses incurred by them in the execution of this Act.” And it is further laid down that “they may mortgage to the persons by or on behalf of whom such sums are advanced any such fund or rates or rate.” It thus appears that neither library buildings nor the library rate can be mortgaged for the purposes of library loans, but only the rate or rates out of which the expenses of the Public Health Act are paid. This practically means the general rate of a district.

=34.= The Local Government Board will fix the period for which sums of money for particular purposes may be borrowed. Generally the periods are as follows:

For sites or lands 60 or 50 years. „ buildings (including fixtures like counters, screens, wall and standard bookcases, wall newspaper slopes, barriers, etc.) 30 years.[1] „ books 10 „ „ furniture (tables, chairs, desks, and movable furniture only) 10 „

[1] A loan for purchasing an existing building will not be sanctioned by the Local Government Board for a period exceeding twenty or twenty-five years.

The money may be borrowed from the Public Works Loan Commissioners, County Councils, Banks, Friendly Societies or private individuals. The rate of interest varies, according to the state of the money market. Four per cent. may be regarded as an average interest at present, but library authorities have borrowed for as low as 3 per cent.

=35.= The methods of repayment vary, and this must be entirely a matter for local arrangement, and should follow the practice in vogue with other municipal loans. An equalized repayment of principal and interest on the annuity system has the advantage of distributing the payments uniformly over the whole period, and of placing part of the burden on succeeding ratepayers as well as upon those who establish the library. This is much fairer than making the pioneer ratepayers practically bear the whole foundation cost of establishing an institution which increases in its value to the community as it progresses. On the other hand, buildings are sure to depreciate in value, and the question of repairs is a constant one, so that some authorities maintain that loans on structures should be paid off by annually diminishing instalments of principal and interest. In Scotland repayments of principal must be made from a sinking fund which is to be formed from a certain proportion of the rate put aside annually.

The arrangements for negotiating a loan and drawing up the necessary deeds should be placed in the hands of a solicitor, but in many cases the accountant or town clerk of the district is responsible for all arrangements, and will see that the deed is duly sealed as prescribed by the Act.

In connexion with this it should be noted that by Section 237 of the “Public Health Act, 1875,” a register of the mortgages on each rate must be kept, and that “within fourteen days after the date of any mortgage an entry shall be made in the register of the number and date thereof, and of the names and description of the parties thereto, as stated in the deed.” Furthermore, “every such register shall be open to public inspection during office hours at the said office [local authority’s office] without fee or reward.” As the auditor will call for this register, the clerk to the library authority should see that it is provided, if the local authority has not already done so.

=36.= The arrangements for loans in Ireland and Scotland are somewhat similar to those just described. In Ireland no power to borrow was given under the principal Act, but the Amendment Act of 1877 gives the power, provided the commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury approve. The Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland may lend, and power is given to mortgage, as security, either the borough fund, town fund, or the library rate itself. In Scotland the local authority may borrow, without any other consent, on mortgage or bond on the security of the library rate, a sum or sums not exceeding the capital sum represented by one-fourth part of the library rate, capitalized at the rate of twenty years’ purchase of such sum. A sinking fund must be formed, consisting of an annual sum equal to one-fiftieth part of the money borrowed, which is to be invested and applied to the purpose of extinguishing the debt.

Before leaving the question of loans, it may be well to offer a word of warning against the danger of overborrowing, which has very seriously crippled the work of various libraries. In some places as much as one-half the library income has to be devoted to the repayment of principal and interest of loans; in others, one-third is similarly spent. One-fourth is the maximum which in any case should be set apart for the purpose.

=37. Assessment to Rates and Taxes.=--The assessment of public library buildings to rates and taxes has been for long a burning question, and is still far from final settlement. The limitation of the library rate to a penny in the pound has always been considered by library authorities a strong reason why all additional burdens on the meagre income raised thereby should be resisted. But all local authorities and assessment committees did not think likewise, and a good deal of friction resulted.

In 1843 was passed “An Act to exempt from County, Borough, Parochial, and other Local Rates, Land and Buildings occupied by Scientific or Literary Societies,” 6 & 7 Vict., c. 36, under which a few public libraries obtained certificates of exemption from the payment of local rates, from the Registrar of Friendly Societies, as allowed by this Act. Some of these certificates were recognized by the rating authorities, others were ignored, and it was frequently maintained that a public library was not a scientific or literary society within the meaning of the Act. In 1896, however, a complete change took place as regards this point, by a decision of the House of Lords, which ruled that public libraries were literary societies or institutions for the purposes of the “Income Tax Act of 1842,” under which such institutions were granted exemption from the payment of income tax. Although the case, brought by the Corporation of Manchester against the Surveyor of Income Tax for Manchester, did not directly refer to the Act of 1843, the decision that public libraries were literary institutions effected all that was necessary for the purpose of claiming exemption from local rates under the “Literary Societies Act of 1843.” A full report of this case and decision is printed in the _Library_ for 1896, in the _Times_ law reports and elsewhere. The effect of this decision was to remove any doubt from the mind of the Registrar of Friendly Societies, who has power under the Act to grant certificates exempting public libraries from the payment of local rates, and as a result many libraries obtained certificates, and now enjoy complete or partial exemption. It is not necessary to quote the Act of 1843, which can be obtained for one penny from the King’s printers, but the procedure requisite for obtaining a certificate of exemption may be noted.

=38.= An application claiming exemption under the 1843 Act must be addressed to the Registrar of Friendly Societies at London, Edinburgh or Dublin, as the case may require. With this must be enclosed a copy of the rules and regulations of the library, signed by the chairman and three members of committee, and countersigned by the clerk or librarian. These rules must include the following, or others in similar terms:--

1. “The ---- Public Library is a society established for purposes of literature and science exclusively.”

2. “The library is supported in part by a rate levied in accordance with the Public Libraries Acts, and in part by annual voluntary contributions of money and gifts of books and periodicals. The Library Committee shall not make any dividend, gift, division or bonus in money unto or between any of the members.”

These two rules are absolutely necessary to a successful application, and, if not already incorporated, should be included by special resolution of the library authority before application is made. It is best to send printed copies of the rules, and it should be noted that three identical copies, all signed, must be sent. On these the registrar endorses his certificate, and sends one to the Clerk of the Peace for the district, one to the library authority, and retains one. The form of certificate usually attached is as follows:

It is hereby certified that this society is entitled to the benefit of the Act 6 & 7 Vict., c. 36, intituled “An Act to exempt from County, Borough, Parochial and other Local Rates, Lands and Buildings occupied by Scientific or Literary Societies.”

Date.

_________ / \ / Seal of \ | Registry of | \ Friendly / \Societies./ \________/

The application should show that annual voluntary contributions of money, books and periodicals are received, but there is no direction laid down as to the amount of voluntary contributions which will pass muster. The point is somewhat vague, but it may be assumed that the amount received from gifts, subscriptions, sales, books, periodicals, etc., need not form a substantial proportion of the income. As the English Registrar accepts donations in kind as annual voluntary contributions, it is only necessary to value these to make up a respectable sum.

=39.= Certificates are not granted as a rule in cases where a charge for admission is made. Furthermore, it is doubtful if the exemption from local rates would be allowed by hostile local authorities for any occupied portions of library buildings. A caretaker’s or librarian’s residence would in all probability be separately assessed, if the certificate were otherwise recognized. By a decision of a Court of Quarter Sessions at Liverpool in 1905, it has been decided that the Corporation of Liverpool is liable for local rates on a library building; but it is not possible to say how far this may affect libraries holding these certificates. Legislation is pending, and till something is definitely settled, the question must remain open.

=40.= The House of Lords’ decision already noticed also freed public library buildings from income tax, but it should be distinctly understood that inhabited house duty can be charged for the whole of a building, even if only partly occupied as a residence, when included under one roof, unless it can be shown that the library and residence do not communicate directly with each other.

=41. Insurance.=--Library buildings and their contents should be fully insured against fire. To ascertain insurable value take the cost of buildings at the contract price, including all charges which would have to be incurred again for rebuilding; furniture at the contract price; lending library books at 3s. 4d. per volume all over; and reference library books at 5s. per volume all over, and thus obtain a total. An allowance is sometimes made for depreciation, but a full covering value is always safe. The policy will state these various items separately for the purposes of insurance, but will likely charge a uniform percentage on all. 1s. 6d. per cent. is a fair charge in a good office, but insurances can be effected for as low as 1s. 3d. per cent. Library buildings form a safe risk, and unless in a case of temporary premises with bad surroundings, 1s. 6d. per cent. should be regarded as a maximum charge. Some offices return the premium once in five years or so by way of bonus. Insurance policies should be revised every few years to keep pace with the growth of the library. Paintings, valuable MSS. and rare books must be made the subject of special insurances. The same may be said of temporary exhibitions, especially of loan articles, which ought to be covered by a policy for the period of the show. Plenty of fire-buckets should be provided in public library buildings to cope with the first outbreak of fire. Hydrants, save in large buildings, are not necessary, on account of their cost and practical inutility. If a fire cannot be checked at its onset by means of buckets, it is time to ring up the fire-brigade.

=42.= Another insurance that should be provided is against claims for damage or injury to children who use juvenile departments which may be caused through any defect in the building or its fittings; and in connexion therewith it should be remembered that children cannot legally be held contributory by their carelessness or misbehaviour to such accidents as would cause injury.

=43.= Health insurance must be paid by the library committees for all employees of sixteen years of age and more who earn less than £250 a year.

=44. Contracts, Agreements, Requisitions.=--Contracts for regular supplies should be renewed annually. The principal items of this kind are:

Books, bookbinding, periodicals and newspapers, printing, stationery, cleaning materials.

Local sentiment is generally in favour of procuring all supplies locally, where possible, and when this can be done without absolute disadvantage to the library it is the most convenient course. Tenders can be invited either by public advertisement or on the nomination of members of committee and the librarian. To begin with, public advertisement is, perhaps, the fairest way; afterwards, quality of service and other considerations will decide. Specifications should be prepared and sent out according to requirements.

=45.= All specifications and contracts should be carefully preserved. The former should be entered up in a specification book, which need be but an ordinary foolscap folio blank book, ruled faint. Accepted contracts should either be filed in boxes or guard books, or copied into a contracts book similar to the specification book. Accepted estimates for occasional work should be fastened to the accounts. It is important to be able to lay hands on any given document or its terms without the slightest delay. All tenders for regular supplies and estimates for occasional work should be opened in committee, in meeting duly convened, unless by special resolution the librarian or a sub-committee is authorized to deal with them. Envelopes, printed with the address of the library and having the words “Tender for ----” printed boldly in one corner, should be enclosed with all invitations for estimates to prevent the risk of accidental opening.

=46.= In connexion with contracts it is important to note that Public Library Committees and officers are subject to the penal provisions of the “Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889,” 52 & 53 Vict., c. 69, in the event of bribes or commissions being given or received in connexion with pending contracts or supplies. As this does not seem to be generally known, the essential words of the Act are quoted:

“Every person who corruptly solicits or receives, or agrees to receive, for himself, or for any other person, any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage, as an inducement to any member, officer, or servant of a public body, doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction in which such public body is concerned; and every person who shall, with the like object, corruptly give, promise, or offer any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage to any person, whether for the benefit of that person or of another, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour. Any one convicted of such an offence shall be liable to imprisonment for two years, or to a fine of £500, or to both imprisonment and fine; and, in addition, be liable to pay to such public body the amount or value of any gift, loan, fee, or reward so received by him; and be adjudged incapable of holding any public office for seven years, and to forfeit any such office held by him,” etc.

=47.= AGREEMENTS for leases, loans, joint use of libraries with adjoining authorities, or between committee and librarian or other persons, should be drawn up by a solicitor. Minor agreements may be drawn up by the library authority, but they should all be stamped with a sixpenny stamp if in connexion with a consideration of £5 and over. The legal limits within which agreements between various kinds of library authorities can be made are duly set forth in the various Public Libraries Acts, and, as these matters seldom arise in the course of ordinary library routine, there is no need further to consider the subject.

=48. Suggestions on Management.=--It is well to keep a book or to provide forms to enable readers to make suggestions on the management of the library. Frequently such suggestions take the form of complaints, but it is a useful thing to allow free opportunity for the expression of public opinion. In some libraries separate books are kept for propositions of new books not in the library and suggestions on management. A simple form, on which the reader can make suggestions on management or of books, is preferable. When these forms are made readily available, and are kept in public view, together with a locked box in which the slips can be lodged through a slit in the lid, they are much more effective as a means of drawing suggestions than special MS. books which have to be asked for. A useful form of slip is the following:--

+----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | LIBERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. | | | | I beg to make the following suggestion (.if a book or | | periodical, please give publisher and price.):-- | | | | ........................................................ | | | | ........................................................ | | | | ........................................................ | | | | ........................................................ | | | | Name.............................................. | | | | Address........................................... | | | | Date.............................................. | | | | ~Please fold across and leave in “Suggestions” Box.~ | | | +----------------------------------------------------------+

FIG. 3.--Suggestion Slip.

A small locked box to contain these, and lettered on side “Suggestions,” should be provided. If one of these boxes is placed in each important department of the library, readers will be encouraged to air their views. Even if nothing more valuable should be received than a complaint about a draught or the manner of the librarian, it is better than the dull indifference and apathy which are met with in libraries where readers are discouraged from taking any part in the administration. Occasionally some brilliant, if impossible, suggestions on management are received by means of these slips and boxes, and suggestions of desirable books can always be depended upon. Every means of interesting readers in the work of the library should be adopted, and this will be found a very effective method.

=49. Accounts.=--By the principal English Act, Section 20 (1), it is ordained that “separate accounts shall be kept of the receipts and expenditure under this Act of every library authority and its officers, and those accounts shall be audited in like manner and with the like incidents and consequences, in the case of a library authority being an urban authority, and of its officers, as the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of that authority and its officers under the Public Health Acts.” In Ireland the same provisions apply, that is, library accounts are to be kept and audited like those of the local authority, and copies of the accounts are to be sent within one month after auditing to the Lord Lieutenant. In Scotland the accounts are to be kept separately in special books, and are to be audited by “one or more competent auditors.” In all cases the books are to be open to public inspection, and in Scotland abstracts of the accounts are to be inserted in one or more newspapers published or circulated in the district.

No special system of library book-keeping has been laid down, the nearest approach to a form being that prescribed by an order of the Local Government Board, dated 26th November 1892, for parishes whose library accounts are audited in like manner to those of Poor Law Guardians. In Greenwood’s _Public Libraries_, fourth edition, 1894, pages 343-345, some details are given of this system, and the first edition of this _Manual_ also gives specimens of forms, etc.

=50. Financial Statement.=--The form of financial statement for public libraries in parishes, prescribed by the Local Government Board, alluded to in Section 49, is the best for all purposes. As shown in the section on Annual Estimates, it provides for every kind of receipt and expenditure. Printed blanks giving the whole of the items copied from the L.G.B. Order of 1892 have been published. In addition to a blank tabular form for showing particulars of loans, etc., the statement includes spaces for the undernoted items, all duly set out to form a balance sheet:

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

RECEIPTS.

Rates. Fines and penalties. Donations and subscriptions. From parliamentary grants. From other local authorities. From sale of securities in which sinking fund is invested. From all other sources, specifying them. Sale of catalogues, etc. etc.

EXPENDITURE.

Buildings, repairs, maintenance. Books, periodicals, etc. Salaries and remuneration of officers and assistants. Establishment charges not before included. Loans: Principal repaid {Out of invested Sinking Fund. {Otherwise. „ Interest. Payments to other local authorities. Other expenditure.

=51. Audit.=--In cases where library accounts are audited under the “District Auditors’ Act, 1879,” it is imperative that all the forms and consequences should be borne in mind. District auditors have power to surcharge expenditures for items which in their opinion cannot be legally incurred under the provisions of the Public Libraries Acts, and it should also be remembered that the committee-men who sign the disputed cheque are held liable. The powers vested in library authorities are so wide that it is very doubtful if some district auditors are not exceeding their authority by objecting, as they have done in some places, to payments for publications, subscriptions to societies, expenses of lectures, and other items. In cases of surcharge appeal for relief should be made to the Local Government Board, when it is a first offence, or when there is good grounds for challenging the decision of the auditor. The cost of auditing accounts is laid down in the “District Auditors’ Act, 1879,” according to the following scale. The library authority is required to purchase the necessary stamps to cover the amount:

Under £20 = £0 5 £20 and under £50 = 0 10 50 „ 100 = 1 0 100 „ 500 = 2 0 500 „ 1,000 = 3 0 1,000 „ 2,500 = 4 0 2,500 „ 5,000 = 5 0 5,000 „ 10,000 = 10 0 10,000 „ 20,000 = 15 0 20,000 „ 50,000 = 20 0 50,000 „ 100,000 = 30 0 100,000 and upwards = 50 0

Needless to say, very few libraries will have to pay more than £10. The charges for auditing by a firm of chartered accountants are generally according to an agreed scale.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

=52. Rating:=

Greenwood, Thomas. Public Libraries, 1891, p. 376.

Adams, W. G. S. Report to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust of Library Provision and Policy, 1915.

Chambers and Fovargue. Law relating to Public Libraries, 1899.

Credland, W. R. Rating and Taxation of Public Libraries. In Greenwood’s Year-Book, 1897, p. 45.

For articles, see Cannons, B 38-44, Taxation, etc.

=53. Insurance:=

Davis, C. T. Fire Prevention and Insurance. In Greenwood’s Year-Book, 1900, p. 53.

Poole, R. B. Fires, Protection, Insurance. U.S. Education Report, 1892-93, vol. i. p. 724. For articles, see Cannons, D 46, Fire Prevention, Insurance.

=54. Accounts:=

Brown, J. D. Manual of Library Economy, Ed. 1, 1903, p. 30.

Hopper, F. F. Order and Accession Department. _In_ A.L.A., Man. of Lib. Econ. Preprint of chapter xvii., 1911.

For articles, see Cannons, E 6-7, Accounts.