The KB is performing well. The five-year evaluation of the national library paints a positive picture that is also endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. This is according to the letter to the House of Representatives sent by outgoing Minister Eppo Bruins regarding this evaluation. It also states that the KB remains in talks with the Ministry regarding funding for the national library's digital tasks. The various areas for improvement that emerged from the evaluation have been taken on board by both the Ministry and the KB.
Reactie
The evaluation paints a positive picture of the KB, as confirmed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in a response to the House of Representatives. "Ever since the KB received substantial additional tasks relating to public libraries in 2015, it has fulfilled a much broader role than previously. This has had an impact that continues to ripple throughout the organisation. Advancing digitisation has also resulted in major implications for the KB across the full spectrum of its tasks. The KB is constantly evolving to keep up with these changes and I greatly appreciate how it manages to continuously reinvent itself within this challenging context." As stated by Minister Eppo Bruins in his letter.
In the response to the evaluation, the minister also indicated that he will continue to discuss potential solutions with us regarding the limited resources available to (continue to) properly carry out the increasing digital tasks.
Wilma van Wezenbeek, the KB’s director general, is enthusiastic about the Ministry's response. "I welcome the appreciation for all the work we do as a national library, and the shared concern for our growing digital tasks and the resources required for this. We will also work on the various areas of improvement. For instance, there is sometimes a lack of clarity in the KB and the networks about roles, responsibilities, decision-making and proper coordination. The KB has already started working internally on improvements in this area. Externally, we will start engaging with the various networks in the autumn to discover how we can improve this. We would like to thank everyone we work with - internally and externally - for their great commitment and effort."
Evaluation
The KB is a non-departmental public body (zbo) and is therefore subject to the Framework Legislation for such bodies (Kaderwet zbo’s). This legislation requires non-departmental public bodies to be evaluated every five years and checks whether the organisation is operating efficiently and effectively. The KB’s 2019-2023 evaluation was done by research firm KWINK. This week, the minister sent his response to the evaluation to the House of Representatives.
