Allocating costs in the business operation of library consortium: The case study of Super e-Book Consortium

• Published in: Library collections, acquisitions, & technical services Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 97 - 103
• Main Authors: Ching, Steve H., Leung, Maria W., Fidow, Margarret, Huang, Ken L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acquisition and access: development policy, licenses, censorship; Acquisition. Collection development policy; Activity-based costing; Collection management; Consortium; Consortium business operation; Consortium service charge; Costing; Exact sciences and technology; Hong Kong; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Information service management; Library and documentation centre management; Library consortia; Sciences and techniques of general use; Super e-Book consortium; Taiwan; Hong Kong; Asia; China; Taiwan; Consortium; Activity-based costing; Consortium business operation; Super e-Book consortium; Consortium service charge; Library network; Electronic book; Activity; Cost analysis; Collection development
• ISSN: 1464-9055; 1873-1821
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lcats.2008.08.013

This study examines the Super e-Book Consortium in Taiwan and Hong Kong by employing Activity Based Costing Method (ABC), which seeks to establish an activity and process analysis pattern for costing structure, and tries to find cost drivers for consortia business operation. The actual level of activities and the services provided by consortium have not been clearly identified. The service charges incurred for financing the consortium business operations are not commonly found in the expenditure category of their existing operating budgets. The key activities and relevant costs have been analyzed to provide a reference for pricing the service charges and as a benchmark for the future consortium operations in terms of cost reductions and efficiency improvements. A future inter-jurisdiction organizational business model is recommended based on key consortium operational activities and its changing environment.