The reviewer examined the impact of the political, social and economic changes of the 1990s on librarianship from the point of view of how libraries tried to relieve their problems in financing and maintenance. Libraries have asked for a fee for their services, or raised the formerly symbolic one. The review is based upon Hungarian library literature of the past ten years, and summarises the answers given to the following questions: what should the library assume responsibility for; what should the budget cover; can the library work as a non-profit organisation; how can a library find sponsors; what should readers pay for; and how much do users have to pay and for what in various types of libraries.