Academic Library Services 2009-2010 Budget Reduction Narrative: 6.5%

December 16, 2008

This document identifies possible permanent budget
reductions for Academic Library Services for 2009-2010 at the 0.7%, 1.3%, 2%,
2.6%, 3.3%, 3.9%, 4.6%, 5.2%, 5.9%, and 6.5% levels, describes the reductions
and the rationale for their selection, and explains the impact the reductions
will have on the unit and ECU.  Our
strategy is cumulative, so that at each level of cuts, the previous level(s)
will be incorporated.  However,
these generally are not repeated in the narrative.

A.
0.7%:  $98,261

Cut the Virtual
Library budget by $66,200

The Virtual Library
has been receiving 50% of the total enrollment increase allotted for the
libraries. As a result, it has been growing at a faster rate than other budget
lines and is the first target for the reduction.  We plan to protect current subscription
resources, including databases and online journal subscriptions.  This initial cut will reduce the funds
available for one-time purchases of electronic resources such as digital
collections and online journal archives that have been requested by faculty.

Cut the
Acquisitions budget by $32,061

ALS currently
allocates money to two acquisitions funds that are used for replacing missing
and damaged materials. These funds will be abolished.  Subject liaisons can still order
replacements for these materials, but they will come from the funds allocated
to the subject area, not to a special fund, and thus will have to compete with
new materials available for purchase.
While we anticipate that the most important materials will still be
replaced, other materials will have to be obtained through Interlibrary Loan or
other means, increasing the time the patron must wait, and potentially damaging
the comprehensiveness of the library’s collections long-term.

ALS will review
subscriptions for print serials and standing orders and will cancel approximately
$20,000 of these titles. We will try to limit the impact by selecting lesser-used
materials and/or materials that are less scholarly in nature.

ALS will reduce the
amount spent on binding journals and other materials.  As online archival access to journals
through ownership models continues to increase, the life span of some print
journals in the library shortens.
If ALS does not bind these journal issues, they may experience some
additional wear and tear, but will be available for use.  As ECU moves toward electronic
submission of theses and dissertations, binding of those materials will
decrease.

B.       1.3%:  $182,485

Cut
the Acquisitions budget by $7,939

Additional cuts to
binding, for a combined total of $20,000.
If the cuts extend to materials such as music scores and pamphlets, the
useable life of the materials will be affected.

Cut the Virtual Library
budget by $76,285

This amount will
reduce the Virtual Library budget to what we project to be the minimum amount
needed to preserve existing subscriptions.
This cut means that no funds will be available for new subscriptions or one-time
purchases.  Any new subscriptions or
purchases will have to be offset by cancellations of existing resources.  The ECU Libraries have been able to add
a number of resources over the past few years, from the VL budget and from
end-of-year funds from Academic Affairs.
Despite the large increase in the number and quality of resources
available through the Virtual Library, there are always requests from our
faculty for additional resources.
Two high priority items that will be impacted by this cut are INSPEC
(requested by Engineering) and the Wharton Research Data Service (needed to
support the Ph.D. in Economics).

C.       2.0%:  $280,746

Cut the Virtual
Library budget by $70,000

This cut means that
some subscriptions paid from the Virtual Library budget will likely have to be
cancelled or user levels reduced.
This cut will impact ECU faculty, students and staff who use the
resources.  In an attempt to
minimize the impact, ALS, in collaboration with Laupus Library, will
investigate cost-saving measures such as reducing the number of simultaneous
users for resources and will pursue additional consortial license agreements.
We will identify areas of overlap for possible cancellation and will target
resources with lower usage, while protecting core resources for all areas of
the curriculum.

Cut the Operating
budget by $18,261

Even though there
is little to no “fat” in the Operating budget, we believe that all
areas of the ALS budget need to contribute to the reduction.  We plan to lengthen our replacement
schedule for staff and public computers and peripherals, reduce travel and
staff development, and further reduce the amount spent on supplies (this budget
line was cut in August 2008 when the 1% reversion was made). The impact will be
loss of efficiency as computers age and become less reliable and as supplies
needed to perform functions such as preservation and repairs are limited, as
well as reduction in our ability to support faculty travel needed to support
their state and national service commitments.  The library environment is changing at a
rapid pace and ongoing staff development is needed to provide the highest level
of service.  Another possible effect
of this cut is a decline in staff morale.

Cut the
Acquisitions budget by $10,000

This reduction will
impact the discretionary spending done each year to improve targeted areas of
the print collection.  Last year,
for example, discretionary spending benefited Music, Classical Studies,
Education, and Theatre.  The impact
of the cut will mean fewer improvements to the library collections, despite
evidence of need.

D.       2.6% = $364,970

Cut the Operating
budget by $84,224

This will require
further cuts to the travel, supplies, and equipment lines.  It is also likely to affect the number
of self-help students ALS can employ and the amount spent on marketing and
special events.  In recent years,
ALS has used lapsed salaries to fund graduate student employees.  This source of funding will not be
available after June 30.  The loss
in the number of graduate student employees combined with the reduction in the
number of self-help students may lead to reductions in service hours.   A decrease in graduate student and
self-help funding will also decrease the availability of on-campus jobs, thus
potentially impacting the university's ability to recruit and retain students.  The reduction in the marketing budget
may mean that ALS cannot sponsor as many events for the University and
community as in the past.  This is
contrary to our goal (and the University’s goal) of increasing community
engagement.

E.        3.3% = $421,120

Cut the
Acquisitions budget and/or the Virtual Library budget by $56,150

Databases and
online journals are funded from both lines.  If a cut of this magnitude is required,
ALS will need to conduct a comprehensive serials and database cancellation
project.  Cancellations will be made
of lower priority items, regardless of which budget line they are in.  Cancellations to the Virtual Library
line will be made in collaboration with Laupus Library.  Print monographs are funded from the Acquisitions
line, while e-books are funded from both lines.  A cut of this magnitude would likely
result in across-the-board cuts to all areas of the monographs budget.   The impact of the cuts will be the
loss of monographs, journals, and databases for everyone at ECU.  Based on past experience, recovering
from major acquisitions budget cuts is nearly impossible, so it is likely that
the collection will suffer permanent damage.

F.       3.9% = $547,456

Cut the Operating
budget by $20,336

This will necessitate
even more cuts to the travel, supplies, student wages, marketing, special
events, and equipment lines.  In
recent years, ALS has used lapsed salaries to fund graduate student
employees.  This source of funding
will not be available after June 30.
The loss in the number of graduate student employees combined with the further
reduction in the number of self-help students may lead to reductions in service
hours and backlogs in processing materials in Special Collections, Digital
Collections, and Technical Services.
A decrease in graduate student and self-help funding will also decrease
the availability of on-campus jobs, thus potentially impacting the university's
ability to recruit and retain students. The reduction in the marketing budget
may mean that ALS cannot sponsor as many events for the University and
community as in the past.  This is
contrary to our goal of increasing community engagement and being the
intellectual heart of the campus.

Cut the SPA 60200
(1210) and Benefits lines by $42,000

If a cut of this
magnitude is required, ALS will evaluate workloads and responsibilities of SPA
staff and will identify a position for elimination.  It is our intent that no full-time
currently-employed staff will be affected by this cut.  Elimination of the position at best will
mean a reallocation of job responsibilities among remaining staff; at worst it
will mean a backlog in accomplishing certain job tasks (binding, cataloging,
etc.).

Cut the EPA 60100
(1100) and Benefits lines by $64,000

Cutting a faculty
position is a last resort, but is required at this level.  Any additional cuts to the Operating,
Acquisitions, or Virtual Library budgets would severely damage ALS’s
ability to provide the resources and services required of a library at a
growing Doctoral/Research University with a large distance learning component.  All ALS faculty contribute to the
services we provide, no matter whether they are in public, digital or technical
services.  Thus, the loss of a
faculty position will negatively impact service.  The particulars of the impact will
depend on the specific position lost.

G.     4.6% = $645,781

Cut the EPA 60100
(1100) and Benefits lines by $98,160

At this level we
will cut two EPA positions: the Library Fellow position and a Collections
Librarian position.  Each year, the Library
Fellow program offers one Joyner SPA employee who has an ALA-accredited MLS the
opportunity to do faculty-level work at the entry-level faculty salary, with a
temporary employee being hired to cover their SPA position for that year.  This program is an important staff
development tool and helps our staff members become more competitive when they
apply for faculty-level positions. This is an innovative program which has
received national attention.  The
Collections Librarian position is a new position that would help Joyner meet
its goal of increasing faculty outreach and building strong online and print
collections. Cutting this position means that current staff will need to handle
these responsibilities, on top of their regular duties.

Cut the Operating
budget by $165

A small cut to the
operating budget is included to meet the target figure for the 4.6% cut.

H.     5.2% = $729,941

Cut the EPA 60100
(1100) and Benefits lines by $60,894

The Electronic
Resources Cataloging Librarian EPA position will be cut.  The duties of this position will be
reassigned to other cataloging faculty, but because the affected individuals
have other duties, we will not be able to devote as much time to this important
and growing area as is needed.  The
impact will be a delay in providing access to new electronic resources,
including e-books and other full-text online resources.  Other areas of the collection will be
adversely affected as well, as the existing catalogers’ time is
split.

Cut the Operating
budget by $23,431

At this level, the
marketing/special events line in the operating budget will be significantly
reduced, with a reduction in advertising, brochures, and special events.  ALS will not be able to sponsor as many
events for the University and community as in the past.  This is contrary to our goal of
increasing community engagement and being the intellectual heart of the
campus.

I.
5.9%
= $828,203

Cut the SPA 60200
(1210) and Benefits lines by $44,400

An SPA position in
Acquisitions will be cut.  This will
mean delays in the ordering of new materials (monographs, DVDs, scores, etc.)
needed by faculty and students.
Also, this position is targeted to work with the new ECU institutional
repository.  Cutting the position
means lessened support for faculty who will submit materials for inclusion in
the institutional repository and a slowing of the growth of this important
resource.

Cut the
Acquisitions and/or Virtual Library budget by $33,412

The Acquisitions
and/or Virtual Library will also have to be cut further to reach this
target.  This means cuts in online
journals, print journals, databases, monographs, DVDs, special collections,
manuscripts, and other materials needed to support teaching and research at the
university. As noted above, recovering from major acquisitions budget cuts is
nearly impossible, so it is likely that the collection will suffer permanent
damage.

Cut the Operating
budget by $20,450

Additional cuts to
the operating budget at this level will require reducing library hours by 14
hours per week and cancelling a contract cataloging service. To minimize the
impact on users, we have selected the two hours each day that receive the
lowest use (first two hours that we’ve been open on Saturday, last two
hours on Friday, and midnight to 2:00 a.m. on the other five days of the
week).  Even so, we know from past
experience that this will frustrate students, faculty and members of the
community who want to use materials and resources within the library building
when it is convenient for them.  As
ECU strives to improve its standing as a research university (and we try to
meet the needs of students who delay studying and research until the last
minute), we would like to increase the hours the building is open, not decrease
them.  The cancellation of the
contract cataloging service will mean a delay in the availability of music
scores to patrons.

J.
6.5% = $912,427

Cut the SPA 60200
(1210) and Benefits lines by $42,640

An SPA position in
Building Operations will be cut.
This is a critical loss at a time when the library plans to use
endowment funds to renovate the first floor of the building to provide a more
user-friendly space that better supports student learning styles and
incorporates new technologies.
Moving and surplusing furniture and equipment, responding to building
work orders, maintaining asset inventories, liaising with Housekeeping, and
other duties will have to be reassigned.
Delays in response time will result. The library cooperates with other
campus groups that want to host meetings and programs in the building.  Many of these events require special
room set-ups (moving furniture, setting up tables and chairs, etc.) Without
this position, we may not be able to support as many of these events.

Cut the Operating
budget by $40,584

This level of cut
will require a large reduction in the operating budget, which will reduce
support for professional and service-related travel for tenure-track faculty by
at least half and more drastically for faculty who have already earned tenure.  It will require more cuts to the
in-house training and staff development budget and further reduce the amount
allocated for self-help students.
This cut is particularly painful in light of the recently-approved
tuition increases and our knowledge that there already is a large unmet financial
aid need within our student population.

Cut the
Acquisitions or Virtual Library budget by $1000

The above cut takes
the Operating budget to a bare minimum.
Even this $1000 cut would be more than the Operating budget could
sustain.  Thus, the Acquisitions
and/or Virtual Library budgets will have to absorb this cut and most likely,
any additional cuts Academic Library Services is asked to make, with serious
consequences to our ability to provide the materials needed by faculty and
students to succeed in their research and learning.