Libraries to buy fewer books

By Elliot Njus

Published Oct. 30, 2007

MU Libraries is cutting book acquisitions to fend off a projected $600,000 deficit.

With the blanket book-purchasing plan, the university automatically purchases books in certain fields from scholarly publishers. With the cost-cutting plan, the university would cut those purchases by 30 percent.

By crafting a purchase plan that allows the university to buy scholarly books at a discounted rate, the MU Libraries would save approximately $200,000 in the current fiscal year, Libraries Director James Cogswell said.

"The plain fact is, if you're trying to save $600,000, you're not going to save much if you use fewer paperclips and photocopies," he said.

With the new plan, the libraries receive books from publishers automatically based on a profile that details the types of books needed, Cogswell said. The books are purchased at a discounted rate.

He said the libraries have tried to cut costs without affecting the content available. He said they have reduced full-time staff from 164 to 154 during the past six years.

"If we lose too many more, we're going to have to close down libraries, stop stacking books, stop designing our Web page," he said.

He said the library system cut spending on insurance by $300,000, meaning parts of the collections are not insured. Ellis Library's hours were also reduced temporarily, but revenue from the Bookmark Cafe helped keep the library open until 2 a.m., Cogswell said.

The library is cutting budgets for books instead of journals because journals are harder to buy later on, Cogswell said.

"Unlike journals, books are typically available after publication," he said. "We can go back and buy those books at a later date."

But he said journals make up about 80 percent of acquisition costs, and the price of scholarly journals has been increasing by 7 to 12 percent points annually, outpacing the consumer price index.

Although journal subscription prices have been going up, the library system's operating budget has stayed almost flat, Cogswell said.

The library's operating budget was $12.6 million in fiscal year 2007, up from $12.4 million in fiscal year 2005, according to a document on the MU Libraries Web site.

He said without additional funding, more cuts would be necessary.

"We won't be able to avoid cutting subscriptions for journals," he said.

On Oct. 19, Cogswell sent an e-mail to all MU faculty explaining the funding issue. In the e-mail, he said he is "cautiously optimistic" that a solution would be found.

Cogswell said he has spoken to Chancellor Brady Deaton and Provost Brian Foster about the issue, and he is hopeful that Deaton will respond to his complaint by the end of the semester.

He also said the problem would require both short-term and long-term solutions.

"We can't wait another five years for this to happen again," he said.

Cogswell also said he has met with the chancellor's Library Committee to discuss the issue.

Missouri Students Association Senate Speaker Jonathan Mays, who represented MSA on the Library Committee last year, said the library's funding problem isn't a new issue.

"The foundation was laid years ago," he said. "We're paying for it now."

Mays said the Student Fee Review Committee would consider recommending that $1 be added to an existing fee to help fund the library, but the committee has not yet reached a conclusion.