Time-driven activity-based costing for a library acquisition process: A case study in a Belgian University

Abstract

Library managers are continuously urged to provide better library services at a lower cost. To cope with these cost pressures, library management needs to improve its understanding of the relevant cost drivers. Through a case study, we show how to perform time-driven activity-based costing for a library acquisition process in a Belgian university and provide evidence of the benefits of such an analysis.

Technical Services Assessment

“…17 Stouthuysen et al presented the results of their research to apply a time-driven activitybased costing (TDABC) model to the acquisitions process in a Belgian university library in an effort to improve cost management. 18 Their findings show that TDABC is well suited for use in a library setting and may lead to potential cost efficiencies.…”

Improving Library Management by Using Cost Analysis Tools: A Case Study for Cataloguing Processes

“…The authors conclude that TDABC is very suited to cope with increasing cost pressures, and its findings can contribute to improve library services at lower costs. A second case study presented by Stouthuysen et al (2010) describes the use of TDABC for a library acquisition process. The authors state that TDABC provides library managers with a better insight into cost drivers, visualizes the acquisition process efficiencies and capacity utilization, and leads to potential cost efficiencies.…”

“…Furthermore, they should strive to identify improvement opportunities and to eliminate costs related to non-value adding activities (Ellis-Newman, Izan, & Robinson, 1996). In order to do this, library managers must keep their activities, resources and costs under control, relying on valid information about activity costs, resource capacity and their performance (Stouthuysen, Swiggers, Reheul, & Roodhooft, 2010).…”

Literature of Acquisitions in Review, 2010–11

“…6 In their study, they worked with print materials and considered ordering, receiving, paying, and using the integrated library system (ILS) and online vendor databases in an acquisitions workflow. The authors reviewed the theoretical background of TDABC and employed this technique to determine the minimum and maximum cost for acquisition functions.…”