Survival in Uncertain Times Library Materials Costs Exploding Lois Schultz April 22, 2003

Survival in Uncertain Times

Library Materials CostsExploding

Lois SchultzApril 22, 2003

Headlines

• Crisis in Scholarly Communication• Serials Market Declared

Dysfunctional• Big Chill on the Big Deal• Searching for Serials Utopia• Do Current Copyright Laws Limit

Your Use of Your Own Publications:

UNCERTAINITIES

• Serials costs still on the increase• Financial scandals• Mergers & monopolies• Budget deficits• Weak dollar• Bundling of journals• Archival of content• War

This Is the World Libraries Are Living in Today

What Are We Doing About It?

• Cutting serials

• Cutting monographs

• Seeking more money

• Participating in consortia sales

• Purchasing package deals

• Being creative in other ways

Crisis in Scholarly Communication at the University of Kentucky on April 7, 2003

UK SymposiumApril 7, 2003

“The crisis is growing to the point that scholarship and education will be damaged significantly if we do nothing”

David Shulenburger, Provost, University of Kansas

Serials Increase

• 1999 161,000 Serials Titles

• 1985/86 103,700 Serials Titles

• Increase 55%

Dr. Shulenburger’s Source: Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory

Update of Dr. Shulenburger’s Statistics



• 1985/86 103,700 Serials Titles

• Increase 65% since 1985/86

• Increase 6.8% from 1999 to 2002

Calibrations Between 1986 and 2000

• Consumer Price Index increased 57%• Cost of Monographs increased 66%• Price of Helath Care increased 111% (’86-98)• Cost of Scholarly Journals increased 226%• ARL Library Budgets increased 105%

Source: David E. Shulenburger’s April 7, 2003 presentation at the University of Kentucky

Eye Opening Example• If a serials budget were $10 Million in

1986, it would have required $32.6 million to purchase the same number of serials in 2000.

• But to purchase the same proportion of all serials would have required a serials budget of $49.8 million


Consequences

• ARL Serials subscriptions - 7%

• ARL Monographs -17%

• Impact on scholarship ?

• Source: David E. Shulenburger’s April 7, 2003 presentation at the University of Kentucky

WHY?

• We gave our intellectual property away to private firms and scholarly societies.

• They have found they can sell it back to us at prices that will produce profits and/or support the cost of other activities.


Market Power Exists

• New Entrants do not reduce market power.

• Top journal in each discipline have market power, that is, they can raise prices without significant loss of subscription volume.


SPARC

Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition

Julia Blixrud was the SPARC speaker at the UK Symposium

SPARC is a worldwide alliance of research institutions, libraries and organizations that encourages competition in the scholarly communications market. It introduces new solutions to scientific journal publishing, facilitates

the use of technology to expand access, and partners with publishers that bring top-quality low-cost research to a greater audience.

One of SPARC’s Programs

Alternatives ProgramsEncourages and supports projects that represent a direct and strong competitive alternative to existing

high-price journal titles.

Alternative Journals

• Tetrahedron Letters $10,345

• Organic Letters 2,850

• Journal of Crystal Growth 9,911

• Crystal Growth & Design 1,853

ALTERNATIVES HAVE TO BE ACCEPTED BY THE DISCIPLINE.

ACRL’s Highest Strategic Priority

• SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE

– CLOSE COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN LIBRARIANS AND OTHER FACULTY TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION

Some Statistics

Average 2003 Periodicals Cost

• Chemistry $2,403

• Physics 2,358

• Technology 1,200

• Biology 1,176

• Political Science 315

• History 137

• Music 104

• Source: Library Journal April 15, 2003

Average 2003 USA Periodicals Cost

• Chemistry $1,520• Physics 1,520• Engineering 433• Zoology 544 • Political Science 149• History 72• Fine & Applied Arts 62Source: The Bowker Annual 2002

Projections

• Publishers that survive the RoweCom/ Faxon failure will try to recoup cost through price increases over the next few years

• 2003 cost of periodicals increase just under 12%

• Weaker dollar

• Serious state budget defcits

This is the environment that we find ourselves in.

Budget Subcommittee

Clinton Hewan

Yasue Kawahara

Kathy Schroerlucke

Lois Schultz

Charge

To fine tune the formula for allocating the departmental funds to include the graduate programs.

Present FormulaX = A + 2B + 3C + D +2E

9

Where X = Departmental allocation

A = Lower division courses

B = Upper division courses

C = Credit hours

D = Cost of books

E = Cost of serials

No department could lose or gain more than 5

%.

The Subcommittee labored over how to refine the formula to include the graduate program.

Recommended Formula

X = A + 2B +3C + 3D + E +2F

12

X = Departmental allocation

A = Percentage of university’s lower division courses generated by the department

B = Percentage of the university’s upper division courses generated by the department

C = Percentage of graduate courses generated by the department

D = Percentage of the university’s student credit hours generated by the department

E = Percentage of the average cost of books published in all subject areas by the average cost of books published in the department’s subject area

F = Percentage of the average cost of periodicals published in all subject area by the average cost of periodicals published in the department’s subject area

Question

Are 500 level courses graduate or upper division?

Is the same true if the department doesn’t have a graduate program?

Recommended Formula

X = A + 2B +3C + 3D + E +2F

12

X = Departmental allocation

A = Percentage of university’s lower division courses generated by the department

B = Percentage of the university’s upper division courses generated by the department

C = Percentage of graduate courses generated by the department

D = Percentage of the university’s student credit hours generated by the department

E = Percentage of the average cost of books published in all subject areas by the average cost of books published in the department’s subject area

F = Percentage of the average cost of periodicals published in all subject area by the average cost of periodicals published in the department’s subject area

How do you vote on our recommendation?

Documents

Survival in Uncertain Times Library Materials Costs Exploding Lois Schultz April 22, 2003