National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia 2003 Annual Report National Library of Australia 2003 Annual Report
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CORPORATE OVERVIEW

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Contents
Director General's Review
Corporate Overview
Report on Operations
Financial Statements
Appendices

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Library has the following key elements of corporate governance.

CHART - Corporate Governance

National Library Council

The National Library Act 1960 provides that a Council shall conduct the affairs of the Library. The Council consists of 12 members—including the Director-General, one senator elected by the Senate, and one member of the House of Representatives elected by that House. A list of Council members and their attendance at Council meetings is at Appendix 1.

In addition to general administrative and financial matters, the Council considers a range of specific issues, including:

  • strategic directions for 2003–05
  • future options for the Kinetica service
  • fundraising and sponsorship policy
  • development of digital initiatives and services
  • replacement of the Library’s Integrated Library Management System
  • implications of changes to the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997
  • increased insurance premium costs
  • the role of Council in developing the Library’s collections
  • corporate governance
  • benchmarking of Library activities
  • workforce planning
  • documenting multicultural heritage.

The Council has three advisory committees: the Audit Committee, the Corporate Governance Committee, and the Fellowships Scheme Advisory Committee. Details are provided at Appendix 1.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is a committee of the Council with the following role:

  • to assist the Library and members of the Council to comply with obligations under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997
  • to provide a forum for communication among the members of the Council, senior managers of the Library, and the Library’s internal and external auditors
  • to ensure that there is an appropriate ethical climate in the Library and to review policies relating to internal controls and management of risks.

The Audit Committee has a minimum of three non-executive members of Council, the Director-General, and a member of the senior executive. A list of Audit Committee members and attendance at meetings is at Appendix 1.

The Audit Committee considerd a range of issues, including:

  • the audited financial statements of the Library
  • relations with the external auditors
  • the internal audit program
  • legal services within the Library
  • responses to the recommendations of Auditor-General reports
  • the Library’s control framework
  • fraud management and reports to the Attorney-General’s Department and the Australian National Audit Office on fraud management activity.

Corporate Governance Committee

The Corporate Governance Committee is a committee of Council with the following role:

  • to evaluate the effectiveness of the Council in its role in corporate governance
  • to evaluate the performance and remuneration of the Director-General
  • to oversight the development of a list of prospective members for appointment to the Library Council, subject to consideration and approval by the Minister.

The Corporate Governance Committee is a committee of three members of Council including the Chair of the Council, the Deputy-Chair of the Council and the Chair of the Audit Committee, with the power to co-opt one non-executive member of Council from time to time. A list of the Corporate Governance Committee members appears at Appendix 1.

Fellowships Scheme Advisory Committee

The Fellowships Scheme Advisory Committee is an advisory committee to Council with the following role:

  • to make recommendations on the award of fellowships, and
  • to make recommendations on other matters relating to the administration of the scheme.

The Fellowships Scheme Advisory Committee is a committee of nine members including the Deputy Chair of the Council and the Director-General. A list of the Fellowships Scheme Advisory Committee members appears at Appendix 1.

Corporate Management Group

The Corporate Management Group, consisting of the Director-General and senior executive staff provides strategic and operational leadership to the Library. In particular, the Corporate Management Group monitors the achievement of objectives and strategies, oversees budget matters, develops policy, coordinates activities across the organisation, and oversees a range of operational issues. The Corporate Management Group meets weekly.

A number of cross-organisational committees advise the Corporate Management Group in key areas such as information technology and collection development.

Corporate planning framework

The Library issued its statement of Directions for 2003–2005 early in the year. The Balanced Scorecard continues as the Library’s principal planning support system, facilitating the linkage of strategic, operational and budget planning. The scorecard approach adopted has five main perspectives for viewing organisational performance. These are the customer, stakeholder, financial, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives. The Balanced Scorecard has proved to be a successful performance management tool that is well accepted by staff and other stakeholders, including the Library Council.

Risk management framework

The first formal review of risks recorded in the Library’s Risk Management Register was commenced in April. Formal reviews are annual but updates to the register are considered bi-monthly in the light of any new or evolving risk. Earlier in the year, data within the register was used as the basis for creating a Business Continuity Plan and Guide for the Library. The plan, using methodology sourced from the Australian National Audit Office’s Business Continuity Better Practice Guide, provides a framework for the Library’s four major emergency response plans, which are:

  • Collection Disaster Plan
  • IT Disaster Recovery Plan
  • Business Contingency Plan for Critical Building Systems
  • Media Emergency Communication Plan.
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