Faced with pressing economic challenges, the UCLA library system
is undergoing an evolution.
Library officials hope changes they are making to the
library’s infrastructure will enable UCLA’s facilities
to maintain their world-class reputation despite dire financial
circumstances.
The budget crisis currently plaguing the university has been
particularly burdensome for the library, whose budget woes have
been compounded by rapid inflation in the cost of academic
journals.
University Librarian Gary Strong is not optimistic about the
effects of the current budget crisis on the library system.
“It’s killing us,” he said.
When the state budget was signed in August, the funds allotted
to the UCLA library system were reduced by 6 percent. These cuts
resulted in a $1.4 million reduction in operations funding, with an
additional $700,000 subtracted from the university’s funds to
expand library collections.
The reductions have made a significant impact on the
library’s staffing.
“That’s 25 open positions (on the library staff) we
haven’t filled,” Strong said. “We’ve had to
redeploy 28 other staff … that are learning new job
responsibilities.”
Strong said the library would like to fill the open positions in
order to keep the library running at peak efficiency, but the
precarious economic status of the university makes it impossible to
do any hiring.
The library will wait until its economic situation becomes more
stable before filling more positions.
“It’s not fair to bring someone to the campus and
then fire them next week,” Strong said.
The chancellor’s office has been a consistent ally for the
library in its fight against budget constraints.
The chancellor committed $800,000 in permanent funding for each
fiscal year beginning in 2003.
“The chancellor’s office has been very understanding
of our issues, and the fact that the library is central to the
mission and core of UCLA,” Strong said.
The funds provided by the chancellor will “help ease the
problem of continuing inflation in the cost of library
materials,” wrote Associate University Librarian Cynthia
Shelton in a recent letter to the faculty.
The inflation in library materials is most prevalent in academic
journals, which have risen in cost in recent years and become
unmanageable. A recent study by the Association of Research
Libraries found that from 1986 to 2000, the consumer price index,
which measures the rate of general inflation, rose 57 percent,
while the price of academic journals leapt 227 percent.
These soaring costs proved incompatible with the limited budget
for the library, forcing the cancellation of subscriptions for
1,295 academic journals this past summer.
To avoid future reductions in the library’s collection,
the university has explored innovative measures for providing
information to students and faculty in a more efficient,
cost-effective manner. The practices being implemented could
revolutionize the nature of the UCLA library by promoting
electronic sources as a more significant component of research.
Electronic media has been an important aspect of the UCLA
library since the establishment of the California Digital Library,
a University of California systemwide information sharing program,
in 1997. But recent advancements have opened the door to new
possibilities in the electronic sphere.
“There is now technology for us to develop better portals
for student and faculty online use,” Strong said.
This recent technological progress will be applied to several
library programs, including eScholarship, a program which allows
computer access to academic publications; it offers a less
expensive alternative to traditional academic journals.
Associate Professor of Information Studies Jonathan Furner is a
vocal proponent of the eScholarship program.
“Submitting a paper to the eScholarship Repository is
voluntary, easy and free-of-charge,” he said. “The
ultimate goal … is that … the entire research output of the
university is fully accessible and searchable by all.”
Using online and electronic media sources reduces expenses in
several ways. First, the library avoids the cost of the printed
copy of the text, which, with the price of paper, can be
substantial. Second, the library only pays a licensing fee, as
opposed to the more expensive purchasing fee required for a
physical copy.
Students have mixed reactions regarding the implementation of
more electronic programs in the library.
“I think the new electronic programs are a good idea
practically,” said second-year undeclared student Rimma
Osipov. “It’s kind of sad though, because part of the
pleasure of going to the library is looking at an old book from 50
years ago.”
But Strong said the university had no intention of neglecting
its traditional collection of books and journals as it improves its
electronic sources.
“If you look at Powell library, we have expanded the
online access, but we haven’t reduced the collection ““
our collection is larger than ever,” he said.
Besides the development of its electronic and online services,
the UCLA library is teaming with other UC research centers to
promote increased sharing of materials among the UC campuses, a
move that can help offset limitations in the library’s
ability to purchase new materials.
Despite these measures, the library’s future remains
ominous. With analysts predicting a state deficit of at least $10.2
billion for the fiscal year starting next July, the prospects for
increased funding for UCLA and its library appear doubtful.
Nevertheless, Strong remains confident UCLA’s library will
maintain its status as a respected research center in the
future.
“If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be
here,” Strong said.