Long-term and short-term planning and programming and budgeting are an important part of the every-day activity of the national libraries in the socialist countries. The libraries extensively apply various types of planning ranging from current annual plans to complicated prognoses for 15-20 years ahead. These libraries display increasing attemtion to long-term planning, mathematical methods of planning and the economic aspects of library activity. Exchange of experience and methods for planning the national libraries' work is of considerable interest to all participants in the 37th Session of International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), the meeting of Section of National and University Libraries. The section is able to promote the continuation of this exchange of opinion and find a means to acquaint many more librarians from different countries with various methods of solving the problems under discussion. (Author)