As Chris pointed out, BCRA manages the British Caving Library on behalf of BCA; it is not the 'BCRA Library' (Jenny can clarify the historical reasons of whay and how it was set up). BCRA pays for the rent, services, buying books, library expenses, postage, journal exchanges etc. directly. The staff costs & insurance is taken out of the subscriptions BCA collects on behalf of BCRA which last year was over £5K. BCA then provides a £12K grant which covers some of these costs. The actual amount BCRA spends on library purchases varies depending on what Jenny buys vs what is donated, but the costs of providing the services (eg phone) has gone up substantially in the past few years, whilst the BCA grant has remained static since 2019.
I should point out here that much of BCRA's assets are derived from specific bequests to help fund cave science, not to maintain the Library. Whilst the past few years has been tough, we try to maintain a healthy savings balance as the interest earned contributes to the CSTRF fund, publishing Cave & Karst Science, the Review, organising events (including underwriting Hidden Earth) and subsiding the costs of publishing books. However, because of its commitments to the CSTRF and Cave & Karst Science etc, BCRA currently runs a significant budget deficit and if we took on paying for the library, BCRA would soon be in a financially untenable position and would not be able to fulfil its charitable aims. My personal view is that the British Caving Library & Archive is a great asset of benefit to all cavers, not just those interested in cave science, and so should be primarily funded by BCA. It is up to BCA members how much they use it. Don't forget that all BCRA members are also BCA members.