National Library of Australia Annual Report 2000-01
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Corporate Overviewpage 1page 2page 3page 4page 5page 6page 7page 8
Public Accountability

External and Internal Audit

National Library of Australia book shop

click to enlarge imageThe National Library Bookshop stocks a wide range of Australian publications

 

The Library's Audit Committee met four times during the year. The Library participated in an Australian National Audit Office preliminary study on Learning and Development in the APS. The audit report is expected to be tabled in the Winter 2002 Parliamentary Sittings. The Library reported to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts on action taken in response to recommendations contained in a number of Auditor-General reports, as detailed.

Australian National Audit Office Reports

The following reports contain Auditor-General recommendations implemented by the Library:

Report 9—Implementation of Whole of Government Information Technology and Infrastructure Consolidation and Outsourcing Initiative
Report 13—Certified Agreements in the Australian Public Service
Report 14—Benchmarking of the Internal Audit Function
Report 16—Australian Taxation Office Internal Fraud Control Arrangements
Report 19—Management of Public Sector Travel Arrangements—Follow-up Audit
Report 25—Benchmarking the Finance Function
Report 38—The Use of Confidentiality Provisions in Commonwealth Contracts.

Internal Audit Reports

The following internal audit reports were prepared for the Library:

Attendance at Stocktakes
Review of the Protective Security Policy and Procedures Manual
Charging of Indirect Costs to the Library Bookshop
Review of Improvements in Efficiency of Human Resource Operations
Quality Assurance of the Aurion Implementation Project
LIDDAS Project Management Review
IT Risk Assessment
Review of Cash Handling Procedures—Pictorial Section
Enquiry into Pictorial Section Thefts
Business Continuity Planning Review
Review of Credit Cards
Goods and Services Tax (GST) Post-Implementation Review
Risk Management Review of the Finance One Electronic Funds Transfer Process
Risk Management Framework Issues Log
Review of APAIS/AMI
Review of the Design Function
Input of Employee Entitlements Data to Aurion
Compliance with Records Management Policy
Assessment of Staff Contract Management and Knowledge Skills.

APAIS Thesaurus web site home page
The APAIS thesaurus lists the subject terms used in the Australian Public Affairs Information Service and is one of the many services accessible through the National Library's web site

Parliamentary Committees and Government Inquiries

The Library lodged submissions and attended public hearings in response to the following Inquiries:

Productivity Commission's Inquiry into Cost Recovery (http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiry/costrecovery/index.html)
Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (Foreign Affairs Sub-committee) Inquiry into Australia's Relations with the Middle East
Senate and Legal Constitutional References Committee Inquiry into the Government's response to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's report on the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families.

Ministerial Directions

No Ministerial Directions were received under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

Legal Actions

No legal action was commenced against the Library.

Ombudsman

No new issues relating to the Library were referred to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The Library received a request for information, from the Commonwealth Ombudsman's Office, relating to a complaint in 1997–98 about the tender for an off-site storage facility.

Freedom of Information

The Library received no requests for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cwlth). A Freedom of Information Statement is provided at Appendix 3. A list of the Library's key supporting policies and documents is provided at Appendix 4.

Indemnities and Insurance Premiums

Indemnity is provided to directors and officers of the Library under the coverage of the Library's insurer, Comcover, which is a Commonwealth Government self-managed fund for insurable risk.

Premiums are levied as part of the overall insurance coverage and are based on the agreed insurance value and previous claims history.

Social Justice and Equity

The Library continued its commitment to meeting the Government's objective of enhancing social justice and equity, outlined within Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society.

The Library aims to provide all Australians with equitable access to its services in a manner appropriate to their individual needs. In particular, the Library:

provides an increasing range of services to Australians in any location through its web site and travelling exhibitions
collects Australian library materials in all community languages for current and future research
maintains high standards for physical access to the building through implementation of the Disability Action Plan.

Service Charter

The Library's Service Charter, introduced in 1998, sets out the Library's commitment to users, the standards of service users can expect and the mechanisms for providing feedback or making a complaint. The Charter is made available via the web site and throughout the Library. The Library welcomes all feedback from users, as well as suggestions for services improvement.

The number of compliments and complaints received by the Library is set out below.

184 compliments, 40 complaints

The most common compliments related to the prompt, courteous and efficient levels of service provided by Reading Room staff, and the extent of their specialist knowledge. Praise for the Library's Public Program activities was also very high. A large number of compliments were received for the consistently high quality and interesting articles contained in the Library's monthly publication National Library of Australia News. Compliments from the Australian library community were received for the Library's digitisation initiatives, cataloguing services and digital preservation work.

The most common cause for complaint was the cost and quality of photocopies from machines in the Library's Reading Rooms (seven complaints). Poor levels of customer service elicited six complaints. Other complaints related to the Library's online catalogue and web site, the height of the furniture and monitors in the Main Reading Room, and the facilities available to copy information from the Internet. Appropriate actions have been taken to address complaint issues including more regular servicing and maintenance of the Library's photocopiers and microfilm/fiche readers, and further training for Library staff working in customer service areas.

The average time taken to respond to complaints was less than one day (0.7 days). Of those surveyed, 78 per cent were satisfied with the manner in which their complaint was handled.

National Library of Australia News February 2001

National Library of Australia News
March 2001
The well-loved free monthly magazine publishing articles focusing on the National Library's numerous collections, services and activities.

The Library's services were available to the public at all stated times throughout the year.

Consultancy Services

The Library engaged 21 consultants with an individual value of more than
$10 000, to undertake consultancy work, at a total cost of $865 128. Consultancy services are used when there is a requirement for specialised services that cannot be undertaken by Library staff due to lack of expertise, insufficient in-house resources or where independent advice is required. The successful consultant is selected according to Commonwealth procurement guidelines. The consultancies relate to building, information technology, accountability and various management issues. Details of the consultancies are provided at Appendix 5.


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