Budget woes force library to cut periodicals
Students going to the Charles V. Park Library to do some research this year might not find what they’re looking for.
A number of cuts were made throughout CMU’s library this year, including the elimination of 714 periodicals.
Those include a wide range of weekly, monthly and quarterly titles such as “Advances in Applied Microbiology,” “Graphic Arts Monthly” and “Critical Reviews in Toxicology.”
Thomas Moore, dean of University Libraries, said the periodicals were eliminated in an effort to combat anticipated budget cuts last spring.
“When we decided to cut the number of titles, we didn’t have our budget in hand, so I made it our decision to shoot for $300,000,” Moore said.
The elimination of the 714 titles fell just short of the target amount, saving the library $283,000, he said.
Cuts to the library’s total budget this year were $508,750 — a 7 percent reduction, Moore said. That includes a $196,400 reduction to the library’s acquisition budget, which is used to purchase periodicals.
However, because of inflation rates on the approximately 3,900 periodicals still being purchased, there was still a net loss, he said.
Anne Casey, associate dean of University Libraries, said the periodicals eliminated were chosen by the academic departments and cuts were made to be as painless as possible.
“Early in the spring semester, when we knew there were going to be budget cuts, we asked some of the departments to rank (the periodicals) in three categories based on importance to their curriculum,” she said. “Once we had an idea from the university what the extent of the cuts would be to our serials budget, we asked each of the departments to cut titles.”
Moore said a number of bibliographers worked closely with each department in deciding which titles to eliminate in order to lessen the impact.
“I’d hope to think they’re fair in the larger context of need for academics,” he said. “We worked hard to do the best we could in trying to support the programs. I think it’d be wrong to say we don’t have a good collection now just because we have a reduction in one year.”
Casey said a student in need of an article not found in the library can go to the interlibrary loan desk and apply to receive it within a couple weeks.
Moore said the reduction in periodicals is just one part of a larger picture regarding budget cuts in the library.
Two staff positions were eliminated this year — a faculty reference librarian and a support staff position. A number of student service hours also were eliminated.
Library service hours have been reduced. Once open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, the service hours are available until 6 p.m. those nights. However, the extended hours study area is still open until midnight.
“We’re still going to spend over $3 million this year in acquisitions,” he said. “That’s a substantial investment by the university.”
The library has a total base budget of $7,025,978 and an acquisitions budget of $3,037,266. Moore said spending will exceed those numbers because of excess money generated from private donors and fund-raisers.
