From Inside Higher Ed:
The survey data is heading for a year old but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Academic Libraries in Flux
Inside Higher Education – “Some campus libraries might be under pressure to cut costs, but as of 2010 academic libraries were spending more money than they were before the financial downturn that started in 2008, according to new data released Tuesday by the Education Department. In the latest in a series of occasional surveys, the National Center for Education Statistics collected data from nearly 3,700 academic libraries, accounting for 86 percent of all libraries at two- and four-year institutions.”
Other interesting snippets:
1. “Overall in 2010, the libraries spent a total of $6.83 billion. Six years years earlier, in 2004, academic libraries spent a total of $5.75 billion — the equivalent of $6.61 billion in 2010 dollars.”
2. “In 2008, academic libraries are spending less per student. That year, they spent $468.50 per student ($538.78, in 2010 dollars); in 2010, they spent $438.”
3. “Subscriptions to electronic journals accounted for a big chunk of the expenditure increase since 2004. During that year, academic libraries spent $480.1 million on electronic journal subscriptions. In 2010, they spent $1.25 billion, an inflation-adjusted increase of more than 80 percent.”
4. “The amount libraries spend on print serials fell over the same period. In 2004, academic libraries spent $883.5 million on print subscriptions. In 2010, they spent $536.7 million, for an inflation-adjusted drop of more than 50 percent.”
5. “The most dramatic change in academic libraries between 2004 and 2010 was the number of e-books in their collections. In 2004, academic libraries held 32.8 million e-books. By 2010, they held 158.7 million. Spending on e-books has also jumped — though, it is notable, less drastically: from $65.6 million in 2004 to $152.6 million in 2010.”
6. “Spending on print books (and other non-journal materials) actually fell, as academic libraries began getting rid of or placing in high-density storage books that were getting little or no use. .. .The decrease is even greater (nearly 20 percent) when accounting for inflation.”
7. “Academic libraries saw slight decreases in staff over that six-year period: the total number of full-time-equivalent workers fell from 94,000 in 2004 to 89,000 in 2010”.
Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/14/education-department-releases-new-data-academic-libraries#ixzz1h2dGSm1V Inside Higher Ed
Stephen
One Response
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I think the info speaks for itself. Cutting certain types of costs (such as maintaining qualified librarian staff) is perceived differently than cutting other types. Libraries need information, information technology and information professionals. Woe to anyone who thinks two out of three ain’t bad.