Allocating costs in the business operation of library consortium: The case study of Super e-Book Consortium

This study examines the Super e-Book Consortium in Taiwan and Hong Kong by employing Activity Based Costing Method (ABC), which seeks to establish an activity and process analysis pattern for costing structure, and tries to find cost drivers for consortia business operation. The actual level of activities and the services provided by consortium have not been clearly identified. The service charges incurred for financing the consortium business operations are not commonly found in the expenditure category of their existing operating budgets. The key activities and relevant costs have been analyzed to provide a reference for pricing the service charges and as a benchmark for the future consortium operations in terms of cost reductions and efficiency improvements. A future inter-jurisdiction organizational business model is recommended based on key consortium operational activities and its changing environment.