This paper reports the self-financing experience of the Cluj Medical Library, Romania. The recurrent library budget given by the University covers mostly book and periodical acquisitions: other expenses, such as equipment, consumables can only be partially (i.e. 10-50%) covered from this budget, the rest must be borne by the library itself.
In order to continue improvements, the library budget had to be increased by self-financing schemes, therefore a conscious decision was made to introduce fees for additional library services given. The influence of old mentalities are discussed as well as the implications and the results of the scheme.