Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1980)
Funding cutbacks leave library in bind “I ""ninn unccn Ol the Emerald Nowhere in the University are the effects of recent budget cuts more evident than the library. At present the library is short $37,000 after repaying a “loan” received last year to pay off debts for on-going periodicals. In addition, the administration has withheld another $65,000 but has given the library first priority on any unexpected University funds. "I'm glad the University has made the library one of the high priorities and has issued public statements in support of the restoration of the $65,000," says University Librarian George Shipman. Like all departments, the li brary has absorbed a 15-percent cut in supplies and services, but the resulting losses are great because the library has a staff of over 130 people, Shipman says. Besides this year’s direct budget cuts, the library hasn't received the funding it needs from past legislatures, he says. “Our library this year has fared better than a lot of cam puses in Oregon, but in the last 10 to 15 years, the library's budget has not kept pace with the rate of inflation." The library’s acquisition bud get for 1969-70 was $350,000, and for 1979-80 it was $1.1 mil lion — a 214-percent increase. "Even with a growth rate of 214 percent, the acquisition budget only bought 28,000 items in 1979-80, as compared to 29,882 in 1969-70,” Shipman says. And if the library continues to be funded at the same level, “we’ll have no new (book) title money. It’ll all go to pay for on-going committments (per iodicals). “An academic institution is sustained by the influx of new ideas, concepts and theories contained in these publica tions,” Shipman says. “The research conducted by students and faculty in a com prehensive University requires that the library purchase broad ly and in depth in all disci plines.” The current budget situation has made this impossible, Ship man says. However, the library is planning to review all per iodical titles in an attempt to cancel periodical subscriptions that aren’t urgently needed. The plan will enable tne li brary to cancel subscriptions without going through the entire periodicals collection each time, Shipman says. d,<<eof' ■0^%\^S'y\\S ^3pt3Ste c 198C MOCTEZUMA IMPORTS. INC. IRVINE. CA Page 10 BUDGET Without new book money, the library faces major problems. If no money is available for new materials during the school year, the library will be forced to purchase books after they have gone out of print, Shipman says. But publishers don’t keep stockpiles of books from previous years, and out-of-print books are much more expen 1 sive, he says. “An academic library can never regain the momentum lost during a bleak budget cycle.” High inflation in the cost of periodicals also has contributed to the reduction in new book titles. Inflation coupled with an unchanging acquisition budget over a long period of time has forced the library to spend greater amounts of each year’s acquisition budget to meet an nual subscription rates, Ship man says. The library hasn’t purchased any new subscriptions since December, 1979 in an attempt to reduce the amount of dollars spent on periodicals, he says. "Even with this step, inflation in periodicals will cause us to commit 67 percent of the 1980-81 acquisition budget to cover various on-going com mitments.” Only 19 percent of the acqui sition funds will remain to pur chase new titles because the rest will be used to pay for pos tage, binding and related ex penses. Also because of budget prob lems, the library is in danger of losing its membership in the Association of Research Librar ies. ARL membership indicates quality in research develop ment, Shipman says. “In 1963-64 the University of Oregon ranked 37th. In 1978-79 it ranked 82nd, suffering a de cline of 45 positions in its standing ” Black union elects officers All black students are invited to attend a meeting in the Black Student Union office at 7:30 p.m Wednesday. The meeting has been called to reorganize the BSU adminis tration, and votes on a new administration will be taken. Anyone interested in being on the ballot or in nominating an other person for the offices of director, associate director or secretary, can submit names to the BSU office. For more infor mation call 686-4379. SOVIET RUSSIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NO PREREQUISITE SLR 330 3 cr. FALL MWF 1:30 J. RICE Tuesday, September 30,1980