Libraries to face no further budget restrictions; funds targeted for purchase of monographs

After a three-week long hold on library purchases that was initiated by library officials on Oct. 4, the university's budget committee on Oct. 26 informed the libraries that they would have no further budget reductions, which has allowed them to resume spending the funds remaining in their budget.

Specifically, the libraries were told that they will have no increase in the amount of their savings/reduction factor, or the amount units are assigned to "give back" from their individual budgets to the university each year in order to help offset state reductions.

The assurance from the administration that the libraries' savings/reduction factor will not increase has allowed the libraries to begin spending what remains in their acquisitions budget, which is some $1 million, according to Voldemar Innus, senior associate vice president for university services and chief information officer.

The savings/reduction factor assigned to the libraries will remain $230,000-the same as last year-and most likely will be taken out of the $1 million that remains in the libraries' base acquisitions budget, according to Stephen Roberts, associate director of the University Libraries.

Roberts, who called the administration's action a "blessing" and a sign of "serious commitment" to the libraries, noted that the rest of the university will have to absorb the financial consequences of giving the libraries such priority. He added that the libraries' buying power remains significantly decreased as the result of the lack of inflationary funding from the state and that the libraries still face an extremely difficult year financially.

According to university administrators, this is the first time in more than 30 years that the libraries have not received inflationary money from the state.

The major setback, according to Roberts, is that the libraries are "going to be forced to buy materials at inflated prices," resulting in relatively fewer acquisitions than in previous years. He added that there also will be some reduction in subscriptions.

Roberts said that the $1 million available in the acquisitions budget will be distributed to the individual library units and that each unit will have to work with the academic departments they serve to establish priorities as to what will be purchased. These funds have been targeted for the purchase of monographs-including books, and electronic databases-since a considerable amount of the libraries' $5.2 million base- acquisitions budget already has been spent on journal-subscription renewals.