Given the funds that the library currently has for collections, we cannot get anything new unless the university allocates more money for research and scholarship to the library each year. The library is in need of continued funding for subscription resources as the cost for these resources generally goes up 5-10% annually for inflation costs & 10% minimum to support basic research needs. However, this does not allow for new resources or anticipatory needs for future programs. An annual cost inflation of 15-20% will help meet the minimum and anticipatory needs with additional funding for one-time purchases. A lack of increase in funding equals a budgetary reduction. In addition, since the University is now an R2 institution, we need to support the needs of student and faculty research. The collection management committee keeps track of resources that are requested by university faculty - the list includes over $400,000 in requested subscription items and over $300,000 of requested one time purchases. This area is one of many reasons why APU Libraries needs a University Librarian or Dean so that this permanent leader has a voice at the University level when it comes to funding.
References on the Cost of Journals and Electronic Resources:
Bosch, S., Albee, B., & Romaine, S. (2020, April 1). Follow the money: New approaches have emerged, but none offer a solution to serial costs continuing to rise higher than library budgets. Library Journal, 145(4), 36.
Bosch, S., & Henderson, K. (2016, April 15). Fracking the ecosystem: journal prices continue to rise, while resources remain flat, challenging all players to eke out the most value for students and scholars. Library Journal, 141(7), 32.
Barreau, D., Bouton, C., Renard, V., & Fournier, J.-P. (2018). Health sciences libraries’ subscriptions to journals: expectations of general practice departments and collection-based analysis. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 106(2), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2018.282
The goal of collection budget management is to align cost with value to provide access to the information resources needed by APU faculty, students, and staff to support the wide range of disciplines across campus. With the rapidly rising costs of academic books, journals, databases, and other resources, and without added funding to cover these increases, the collection budget must be carefully targeted toward the most needed materials. The following strategies form the basis of budget management to meet this goal.