In Financial Management for libraries, Sannwald describes current practices in financial management relevant to libraries. The book is divided into nine chapters, which makes it useful to the reader only interested in one concept or practice. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and provides clear definitions (such as budget, financial accounting or balance sheets) which indicates that little prior knowledge is expected of the reader.
Each chapter also contains an exercise which consolidates the reader’s learning with some questions – though there is no easy way to verify the answers – and a reference list to guide further reading. The chapters conclude with financial documents from three example libraries used in the book such as a line-item budget for a library special exhibition, which look useful as they can easily be adapted to local contexts.
The book is probably most valuable to practitioners who are targeting or started in a managerial position with financial responsibilities. Library and Information Science students seeking an overview of the different tasks involved in managing a library financially and librarians who are organising events will find it equally handy, as the author covers organisation-wide operating budgets as well as budgets for individual programmes or projects. Other library staff might find it an easy introduction into terminology and concepts of financial management, which can aid them in understanding issues in financial contexts and encourage professional development.
The text is relevant to all types of libraries; the examples in the text are based on an academic and two public libraries. Chapters such as Accounting Concepts cover processes that might be handled by the parent organisation of a library but are nonetheless valuable as they provide managers and library staff with basic knowledge to understand and question financial decisions. In the current climate in Australia, readers will also be interested in Chapter 6, Revenue Sources, which discusses areas such as fines and fees, philanthropy, foundations and grants as possible additional sources of income for libraries.
As the book is published by the American Library Association ALA, the text is firmly situated in the American context. It uses three American libraries as examples and provides exhibits relating to them, refers to American accounting and financial reporting standards, and lists American resources for benchmarking activities. While it would be refreshing to find a similar publication targeting Australian readers, the concepts, ideas and examples provided by Sannwald are universal enough to be transferrable to the Australian librarianship scene.