The Fundamental Challenges of Resource Allocation :: Essays Papers

The Fundamental Challenges of Resource Allocation The budget is a crucial factor in library management. Automation, continuing education, information technology, materials acquisition, personnel salaries, and public relations necessitate funding. Each of these resources is important for any library that wishes to provide excellent services to its employees and patrons. Unfortunately because of poor resource allocation, many library services are phased out or severely cut back. This directly affects the efficiency of the library and also lowers the satisfaction level of the user. There are many ways of how budgets affect a library. A prime example is in the area of personnel salaries. Oftentimes committees have been established to study and implement salary setting policies. However, it can be difficult to gauge the many factors that need to be considered when determining salary issues. Examples of these factors include experience, education qualifications such as an MLS degree or beyond, and the economic situation in the country at the time coupled with the determination of salaries based upon other library institutions (Williams, D.E.. and Garten E.D. 1999). Additionally, the budget can affect both materials acquisition and information technology in the library. The cost effectiveness of certain collections of materials should be considered. For example, government documents are often inexpensive to purchase in contrast to some journals or periodical subscriptions (Smith, D.H. 1993). One must also consider possible sources for the acquisition of materials. Budgeting needs to be taken into consideration when considering how much funding should be allocated for purchasing the material and how much reliance should be placed on donations. The efficiency and cost effectiveness of new technology must also be examined. For example one must consider automatic checkout as compared to circulation checkout. Another consideration that affects IT technology is what operating system the server will utilize to host the World Wide Web. Many libraries use UNIX based information systems to operate their client server network. Continuing education for library employees is another factor that is dependent upon the budget. Different education programs bring with them different costs. These include both money and time. When creating the budget it's important to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of each program. Public relations also are related to the budget. Certain allocations of funds need to be made by the library to market its services to the public. Visibility is important for the library so that people know where it is and what materials it has.