€98,000 went on book pulled by National Library

NATIONAL LIBRARY:THE NATIONAL Library of Ireland spent €98,000 on a book which had to be withdrawn shortly after it was published in 2009 because of errors and defects.

Ancillary costs of €33,000 were also incurred for the book, which was meant to highlight the library’s “treasures”. The successful applicant was to have a range of skills including “the ability to write in a clear and concise fashion”. Successful tenderers would be put on a panel and the library would award contracts.

An investigation carried out by the library found just one staff member had reviewed the tender for the contract to write the book, entitled National Library of Ireland, and that there was no documentary evidence of the evaluation. There was no documentary evidence to suggest that any of the three other tender submissions were evaluated and nobody else was assigned to the panel to produce the book and nobody else was awarded a contract.

Details of the incident are included in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s annual report, which was published yesterday.

According to the report, the National Library awarded a one-year contract for a researcher for the proposed book in April 2008, having received the tender just one day earlier.

The report says that the awarded contract “lacked clarity as to detail about the work to be performed, the time frame for completion and a limit on the expenditure involved”. There was also uncertainty about how the work would be supervised. No project plan had been developed and no agreement reached about proof-reading of the final text.

Following the library’s internal review, disciplinary action was taken against two staff members. The library now requires managers to prepare a business case for all projects over €25,000 in value which are to be reviewed by the management advisory committee. Projects exceeding €50,000 are subject to board approval.

In a statement, the National Library said it accepted the findings of the CAG report and had taken steps to introduce new protocol and procedures to prevent any future breach in procurement procedures.

It also stressed that the problems highlighted in the comptroller’s report took place before the appointment of the current director and board last year.

Director Fiona Ross said the library has recouped much of the costs associated with the project. “The work undertaken has provided valuable material to the library, which is still in use,” she added.

In another incident, a history of the Office of the Public Works, which is due to be published later this year, is estimated to have cost €350,000 more than originally envisaged.