More flexibility for Turnbull Library purchases
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