LIBRARY INFLATION RATES AND THEIR IMPACT ON OUS INSTITUTIONS

· AVERAGE DATA ON LIBRARY INFLATION

During the period 1990 – 2000, the average journal subscription price according to Library Journal, increased by more than 10% per year for a ten-year total increase of nearly 170%. Seventeen of 27 disciplines posted double-digit annual increases. Though science, technology, and medicine journals posted large increases, with technology the highest at 12.7% per year, some of the largest gains were seen in the Social Sciences:

· Business, Economics............... 13.4%

· Geography............................... 15.0%

· Military and Naval Science.......14.3%

· Political Science........................11.5%

(see Chart 1. Journal Costs by Discipline)

For 2002, median inflationary increases on serials range from 8% (American Library Association) to 10% (Faxon Library Services).

· DECLINES IN PURCHASING, SUBSCRIPTION CANCELLATIONS

For the average research library, journal acquisitions have dropped nearly 7% (about 1,000 fewer subscriptions per institution) during the last thirteen years, and the acquisition of scholarly books has fallen 25%. During the same period, annual book production worldwide increased 50%.

(see Chart 2. Monograph and Serials Costs in ARL Libraries)

In dollars, the average library has cancelled nearly $500,000 worth of subscriptions between 1986 and 1999. During roughly the same period, the number of journal titles available to libraries more than doubled. Smaller university and college libraries have experienced similar cancellation patterns.

A straight-line projection suggests that by the year 2015, the average academic research library will have had to cancel another 17% of its journals to keep up with current service levels. This figure assumes a favorable economy and exchange rates.

In the early 1990s, electronic access to scholarly research was thought by many to be the solution to the crisis. Because it bypasses certain production and distribution costs, it was thought that electronic access would temper high inflation rates, particularly in science and technology journal costs. However, this promise has not been realized in part because there have been enormous costs in converting print-based operations to electronic. Most publishers offer electronic journals as an add-on cost of 10-20% to the print subscription.

· IMPACT ON OUS LIBRARIES

All OUS libraries have been affected by inflation on journal prices. Budgets and expenditures have increased, but purchases have declined. Although most academic libraries nationwide have experienced some decline in purchasing power as a result of inflation, OUS libraries have taken a harder hit because augments have been smaller than average.

Eastern Oregon University:

Since 1991, EOU has cut 304 journal titles and added only 48 new titles.

For FY2002/03, EOU is planning to cut $58,264 in serial expenditures--an additional 257 titles. This cut represents nearly 30% of the collection.

EOU has shifted as much of its budget as possible to save journal subscriptions. The current ratio between journal and book expenditures is 90/10 (only 10% of the budget is used to buy books). Most academic libraries try to balance the ratio at 70% for journals and 30% for books.

As the largest academic institution east of the mountains, EOU has tried to serve a range of research needs within the 10-county region, including the U.S. Forest Service Pacific NW Research Station, the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, OSU Extension Services, etc. With the reduction in resources, these needs, in addition to the campus needs, are becoming more difficult to support.

University of Oregon:

Since 1992/93, the University of Oregon has cut $850,000 in serial titles, or approximately 2400 titles. This represents 12% of the University of Oregon’s collection, which is double the average decline for research libraries. (Research library budgets increased an average of 6% annually during the 1990s; the University of Oregon library’s budget increased an average of 3% annually).

In 1992/93, the University of Oregon purchased 13,898 serials. In FY 00/01, that number was 11,463. Over the same time period, UO’s serial expenditures increased approximately 50%.

(see Chart 3. Library Collections & Access Budget & Expenditures)

In 1992/93, the average cost of a journal purchased by the UO Library was $188. In 2000/01, that figure was $299.

Purchasing power for books has also changed over the last several years. In 1992/93, the University of Oregon purchased 27,670 titles (from all sources, including gift funds); in 2000/01, the UO book purchases had dropped to 24,480 (11.5%).

Southern Oregon University:

Both core titles and highly specialized titles are increasing in cost. Increases on core titles have had a detrimental impact on the regional campuses. At SOU, The Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing increased from $60 in 1995 to $460 in 2002, and the Journal of Business Ethics increased from $414 in 1995 to $1252 in 2002.

During the previous five fiscal years, 1997/98 through 2001/02, SOU has cancelled a total of 230 journals, a 16% cut in journal titles over five years. At the same time, expenditures have increased 6.8%, from $194,047 to $207,294.

SOU is planning an additional cancellation project this summer and has targeted $40,000 in serial cuts. This cut will bring their journal count to 1090 titles, down from 1421 in 1996/97.

Oregon State University:

With a higher proportion of science and technology journals, OSU’s inflation factor has been slightly higher than other OUS institutions. The average annual inflation on serials has been 11.6%.

Since 1993/94, OSU has cut $587,000 in serial expenditures.

Inflation factors are forcing OSU to cut an additional $200,000 in expenditures in FY2002/03. Based upon a recent collection assessment, OSU’s support to graduate/faculty research in the sciences is now at marginal levels, so other areas of the budget will be tapped to mitigate the impact on the journal collections, e.g., staff positions.

· SOLUTIONS

Electronic Only Subscriptions: A few publishers are offering libraries the option to subscribe to electronic subscriptions only. Modest savings, e.g. 90% of print costs, are possible under this model. However, there must be some guarantee of permanent access.

Non-commercial Publications: The SPARC initiative is a collaborative effort between research libraries and scholarly societies to develop lower-cost journals, which are equivalent in focus and content to many high-cost commercial publications. SPARC is a worthy effort, but to date, there are fewer than twenty titles available.

Open Archives: Public archives of preprints provide valuable access to resources in certain disciplines. However, not all disciplines have public archives, and faculty still depend upon the final publication which appears in refereed journals.

Resource Sharing: OUS libraries have lead the nation in developing and promoting resource sharing systems, e.g. Orbis. Interlibrary loan statistics in all OUS libraries have increased dramatically in the last ten years and continue to do so. Much of this increase is due to the decline is serial holdings within the system. Because of the labor costs associated with interlibrary loans, resource sharing is most cost-effective for high priced, low use titles.

Group Purchases: Consortial purchases of electronic resources have helped libraries to avoid higher costs associated with single licenses. These discounts do not apply to print resources.

· CONCLUSION

While there are many efforts underway to move towards a new model for scholarly publishing and communication, the academic community is still several years away from dramatic change. For the foreseeable future, libraries will need to address the impact of inflation. Inflation factors can vary slightly from library to library, depending upon the nature of the collection and the ratio of serials to monographs. At 10% inflation for journals, the University of Oregon would need a minimum of 7% annual increases on the full materials budget to avoid any major cancellations. This figure does not factor in any inflationary factors associated with books or electronic resources.