The economic rationale of New Public Management (NPM) is used in both Sweden and Denmark in order to employ the national cultural policies in local development projects. The paper discusses two different organizational models that are used in order for the national level to be able to exercise policies on the local level are discussed. according to the national goals and cultural policies for libraries. This is done in order to point towards a possible relationship between the political means and ends regarding library development. The two models to be discussed are the systems practiced by The Danish Agency for Libraries and Media, and The Swedish Arts Council, who both administer development grants to public libraries. The paper identifies both differences and similarities in both the means to (the political agendas) and the objectives of governmental influence in the libraries.