ABSTRACT
The library committee and the source from which comes the money to pay for the service are always closely associated. For the National Libraries—the British Museum and others—the source is the national exchequer, and the committee of management, or Board of Trustees as it is called, is appointed by a Minister or a Department of State. In the case of public libraries, town and county, the governing body is known as the Library Authority, the name given in Acts of Parliament dealing with public libraries. The powers of local authorities to establish public libraries are contained in Acts of Parliament. Local authorities must appoint co-opted members on certain committees, and they have the power of appointing them on others, e.g. the library committee. In county library organisation, because of the wide area covered, it is sometimes the practice to appoint local committees to supervise the work of branch or regional libraries of the county library.
