Library relatively unfazed by budget cuts, subscription costs total $2.9 million

• Tweet
• 

Even libraries cannot escape the rapid expansion of the electronic world.

Richard Cochran, Associate Dean of Libraries, thinks new digital resources are good for both students and the university.

“Every library is (adding more electronic resources),” he said. “We get a lot more for our dollar this way.”

The average annual periodical subscription price in 1969 was just more than $9, according to the Bowker Annuals Average. Today a subscription costs more than $400. The inflating cost of materials are forcing newspapers, magazines and libraries to fold on print and hop aboard the “e-train.”

“The real problem that libraries have faced over the years is inflation of material prices,” Cochran said. “We could never have afforded subscriptions to over 13,000 paper journals in the old days.”

The Charles V. Park Library’s 2010-2011 budget for journals and serials is $2.9 million, Cochran said. This budget has remained relatively flat for the past several years.

The library subscribes to 2,854 scholarly journals, which includes 13,891 titles, according to research conducted by CMU for the Directory of American Libraries in 2008.

Another 300 to 400 electronic title subscriptions are expected.

The library has not been hit too hard by budget cuts or inflation, Cochran said. No subscriptions have been canceled because of budget constraints.

It did, however, cancel more than 650 titles in 2009 because of high cost and low use.

“We have to ask: Is this a good use for our money?” Cochran said.

Though the library has been able to avoid serious budget cuts, Cochran anticipates some adjustments because the funds aren’t infinite.

Dearborn sophomore Neal O’Connor has used the library’s resources multiple times for research assignments. He prefers electronic journals.

“Accessing the resources online is more convenient than print because I can do it from anywhere,” he said. “I don’t have to walk all the way to the library to research.”

Though electronic resources are cheaper and often more convenient, print still has its attraction.

“I figure it will all eventually be electronic,” O’Connor said, “but I still enjoy print for my personal favorite reads.”

Cochran also believes print will continue to serve a purpose.

“I think since most items are now born digital, there’s increasing necessity for it,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it will turn entirely electronic though.”