31 May 2001 Media Statement

More flexibility for Turnbull Library purchases

The National Library will be able to purchase items for the Alexander Turnbull Library in a more flexible and cost-effective way, National Library Minister, Marian Hobbs, told Wellington librarians today.
Previously the library received annual funding for purchases. Following last week's Budget the library will pilot what is known as a multi-year appropriation.
"The arrangement means the Library can plan purchases over a three-year period instead of annually," Marian Hobbs said. "It can buy suitable items at short notice, where previously they may have come up for sale at a time when insufficient annual funds were available.
"The Library can also delay purchases if there are few suitable items available in any one year. The expectation is that major items, previously out of reach, can now be seriously considered.
"These measures confirm the government’s commitment to the long-term support of the Alexander Turnbull Library, and of the National Library. "
The overall amount for the next three years' purchases is $4.8 million but the library will have the flexibility to spend more or less than $1.6 million in any given year, the Minister said. The decision builds on last year's Budget provision of $1 million dollars for the Alexander Turnbull Library to buy rare and unique heritage materials

ENDS

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