Acquisition of Library Materials in Public Libraries in the Year 2011

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn 2011 the Ministry of Culture co-financed the purchase of library materials in 58 public libraries in Slovenia for the last time. The project was carried out in compliance with public tender procedures. In accordance with the contractual obligation, all the libraries had to provide final reports (to the Ministry of Culture) with detailed data on the range of purchases and the evaluation of their quality. Public libraries purchased library materials in value of 8,538,626 €. 3,235,136 € (37.9 %) were funded by the state. They acquired 449,890 units (219.53 units per 1000 inhabitants) however, 157,295 units (35 %) were provided out of state funds. For the purchase of library materials local communities allocated (on average) 2.3 € per inhabitant in the range from 0 € (municipalities: Dobrna, Turnišče, Velika Polana, Beltinci, Gornji Petrovci, Križevci, Šalovci and Tišina) up to 6.27 € per inhabitant (Bovec). Local communities financed library activity with an average of 19.83 € per inhabitant in the range from 0 € (Velika Polana and Šalovci) to 34.33 € (Cerknica). The article also presents all the data on individual public library purchases based on the following indicators: the total number of units (state funds) and the total number purchased units per 1,000 inhabitants, the number of purchased units of book materials and the number of purchased units of non-book materials per inhabitant; the number of active members per 1,000 inhabitants and the average price per unit. The data collected confirm that public libraries are building their collections in accordance with professional guidelines and purchasing criteria determined in an annual library plan. The transparency of public funds spending and the overview of purchasing policy were achieved by publishing the document on various websites.