VPRS 12181 Public Library's Board of Trustee Accounts

Full description

From the period of its establishment in 1856 through to 1944 the Public Library had been administered by a Board of Trustees which was responsible for managing and controlling the Public Library, National Museum, Industrial and Technology Museum and the National Gallery. In 1944 separate boards of Trustees were established for each agency.

According to the Libraries Museums and National Gallery Act 1869 the Trustees were required to annually report the proceedings of the corporation during the previous year to the Chief Secretary. Consequently records were required to contain a full account of the income and expenditure of the corporation. These records were duly audited by the Auditor General and printed in the Annual Report. A copy of the report was to be laid before Parliament.

This series consists of six volumes of the Trustees central financial records detailing expenditure for the years 1870-1950. Although the majority of the volumes detail petty cash expenditure the earlier volumes contain information on salary costs and official reports to the Treasury.

The volumes include amongst other things:
Money spent on maintenance issues such as caretaker expenses
Receipts of payments to bookbinders
Stock-take reports lists of books missing and their value
Funds allocated to scholarships and prizes
Costs of ink, drawing pins, stamps, subscriptions, printing costs etc.