The Library is governed by the Harare City Library Act [Chapter 25:05], and the property and assets are vested in a Board of Trustees ‘in trust for the people of Zimbabwe’. The Board of Trustees comprises ‘the Mayor of the City of Harare and the Master of the High Court or their successors in office, permanent or acting’. The primary asset of the Harare City Library Trust is the land and building
in Rotten Row (the former Queen Victoria Memorial Library). However, the Library also operated until November 2018 branch libraries in the low-density suburbs under an arrangement with the City of Harare. Mount Pleasant Branch was established first (in 1966), followed by Highlands (1968), Hatfield (1969), Mabelreign (1971) and Greendale (1976). The branch library buildings belong to the City of Harare, but Harare City Library owned the books, employed the staff, and operated library services from them. The "general direction and management" of the Library are the responsibility of a Library Committee established by the Act, which is made up of ten people, six of whom are elected by the Library's subscribers, three are nominated by the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, and one by the City Council of Harare. Each year, two elected members, one member appointed by the Minister, and the member appointed by the Council retire, thus ensuring both continuity as well as "new blood" on the Committee.
