Working together in difficult times:Challenges for
academic libraries
Sally CurryResearch Information Network
JIBS ConferenceYork, 2 December 2010
Budgets and finance Searching for savings New strategies? Libraries and their value
1. Budgets and finance
The last decade for UK libraries
Chart 1: Indexed real terms expenditure on libraries 1998-2008
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Exp
end
itu
re (
1998
=100
for
each
dat
a s
erie
s)
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
The last decade for UK libraries
Chart 2: Library expenditure as a proportion of overall institution
expenditure 1998-2008
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Pe
rce
nta
ge
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
US and UK compared
Survey in late 2009 showed both UK and US libraries expecting cuts next year
US and UK compared
… and UK librarians are even more gloomy about the prospects in 2 years’ time
2. Searching for savings
Where and how to make cuts?
Staffing
Services
Infrastructure
Content
Staffing
expenditure has risen in real terms by 31% in UK university libraries
45% in research-intensive universities
highest as a proportion of expenditure (c 60%) in colleges
significant differences between individual libraries (30%->70%)
but academic staff and student numbers have risen faster
Chart 21: Staff expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure
1998-2008
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Pe
rce
nta
ge
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Chart 20: Indexed real terms expenditure on staff 1998-2008
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Exp
en
dit
ure
(1998=
100 f
or
each
data
seri
es)
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Staff, service and infrastructure
Staff Doing more with fewer staff pressure from university management some thought being given to restructuring and re-engineering but recruitment freezes and not replacing staff who leave are
the currently- favoured options
Service Closely related to staffing – opening hours and enquiry services
and user information skills training
Infrastructure Many libraries already cutting plans in both building
developments and in IT projects
Content
As proportion of overall library expenditure, relatively stable at 34%
highest in older universities:
Expenditure on content in UK has risen 34% in real terms
+52% in research-intensive universities
-2% in new universities
Chart 4: Information provision expenditure as a percentage of overall
library expenditure 1998-2008
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Pe
rce
nta
ge
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Chart 3: Indexed real terms expenditure on information provision 1998-2008
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Exp
end
itu
re (
1998
=10
0 fo
r ea
ch d
ata
seri
es)
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Content: books
expenditure on books has fallen, from c.12% to 9% of overall library expenditure
power of the student voice in demanding books and other library services
e-books the future?
Chart 5: Indexed real terms expenditure on books 1998-2008
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Exp
endi
ture
(199
8=10
0 fo
r ea
ch d
ata
seri
es)
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Content: journals
expenditure on journals has risen dramatically in research-intensive universities
different picture for recently-created universities and colleges
Chart 7: Indexed real terms expenditure on serials 1998-2008
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Exp
endi
ture
(199
8=10
0 fo
r ea
ch d
ata
seri
es)
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Content: journals
journal expenditure has risen on average from 15% to 19% of overall library expenditure
over 24% in older universities >70% of expenditure on
information resources in many universities
sustainability vs users’ expectations
future of big deals?
Chart 8: Serials expenditure as a percentage of overall library
expenditure 1998-2008
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Perc
entag
e
RLUK Pre-92 universities Post-92 universities Other HE colleges All SCONUL members
Cuts in content?
cuts in monographs, other print books, and printed serials the most favoured
cuts in e-journals and e-books least favoured
Content: new areas and activities
information literacy how well is library-based training resourced and co-
ordinated with others?
open access repositories payment of open access publication fees
data curation new skills and capabilities
digital preservation
3. New strategies?
“opportunities to rethink what the library is and what it means….”
New strategies for content?
from just-in-case to just-in time? from librarian-controlled to user-
generated acquisitions? from hybrid to e-only?
drivers and constraints
cyber-infrastructure? consortial collection development?
‘cloud-sourced’ research collections?
role of Special Collections?
4. The value of libraries
Some issues with value
it means different things to different people
describing perceived value and demonstrating value are different activities
available data correlation is not causation……..
Usage and cost
as usage goes up, so cost per use has fallen
downloads of e-jnls rose by 160% in UK - 2004 and 2008
250% in research-intensive universities
cost per download fell by 40%
60% in research-intensive universities
big differences between individual libraries
Expenditure and usage
levels of expenditure in individual libraries do seem to correlate with volume of downloads
two journal platforms and COUNTER figures as reported by libraries
Usage and outcomes
usage correlates closely with research outcomes
PhDs awarded research grants and
contract income papers published
E-journal investment, use and research outcomes
Investment drives use
Direct links between use and research success weak as the two are distant from each other
There are indicators that usage does correlate closely with research outcomes
Thank you
Sally Curry
www.rin.ac.uk
References
Challenges for libraries in difficult economic times. RIN in association with SCONUL http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/using-and-accessing-information-resources/challenges-academic-libraries-difficult-economic-
Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries 1999-2009 A RIN report based on SCONUL library statistics. http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/communicating-and-disseminating-research/trends-finances-uk-higher-education-libraries-1999
CIBER (2009) The economic downturn and libraries, survey findings www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/ciber/charleston-survey.pdf
Measuring library impact on learning at the University of Huddersfield, Sue White and Graham Stone. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/7842/1/SCONUL_2010_white_stone.pdf
All the RIN reports and briefings are downloadable from the RIN website
If you would like to be added to the RIN mailing list, please get in touch: [email protected]
RIN References
Taking Our Pulse: The OCLC Research Survey of Special Collections and Archives http://www.oclc.org/research/news/2010-10-27.htm
E-journals: their use, value and impact www.rin.ac.uk/use-ejournals
‘Transitions in scholarly communication’ focuses on changes taking place in the world of scholarly communications and their impact on research http://www.rin.ac.uk/resources/publishing/transitions-scholarly-communications
Scholarly books and journals at risk: Responding to the challenges of a changing economy www.rin.ac.uk/files/Scholarly_books_journals_at_risk.pdf
All the RIN reports and briefings are downloadable from the RIN websiteIf you would like to be added to the RIN mailing list, please get in touch: