1. Provide data from the campus libraries on expenditures and collections over the last four years (.e. 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04 and estimate for 2004/05), including number of serials, number of books, and number of electronic resources. What inflationary factors (i.e. cost increases) are projected for the 2005/2007 biennium? What steps will have to be taken to cope with the situation if exception requests are not approved.

Note: Access refers to electronic databases. Electronic journal costs are reflected in the serials lines.

2001/02

Serials Renewals;  $3,218,900
New Serials:  $64,294
Monographic Approval Plans:  $540,000
Monographic Allocations:  $515,250
Access/ILL/Doc Delivery: $269,275

2002/03

Serials Renewals:  $3,437,982
New Serials:  $22,078
Monographic Approval Plans:  $484,992
Monographic Allocations:  $437,778
Access: $344,100

2003/04

Serials Renewals:  $3,199,062
New Serials:  $63,183
Monographic Approval Plans:  $479,614
Monographic Allocations:  $433,512
Access: $368,496

2004/05 Estimate

Serials Renewals:  $3,215,075
New Serials:  $6,000
Monographic Approval Plans:  $449,614
Monographic Allocations:  $403,512
Access: $375,866

We expect at least a 10% increase on serial expenditures and a 4% increase on monographs. Serial inflation could actually creep higher depending upon the exchange rate and the relative strength of the dollar especially against the euro. If budgets remain flat, as they have for the current biennium, the University of Oregon will need to cut $300,000 in subscriptions every year. This figure is based on a projected annual inflation rate of 10 percent.

2. What are libraries doing to cope with the problem?

Since 1992/93, the University of Oregon has cut $1,500,000 in serial subscription, or approximately 3500 titles. This reduction is twice the rate of attrition of other ARL libraries. At the same time, the UO’s journal expenditures have increased 44 percent. The library has taken several steps to try and mitigate the loss of content. These efforts include coordinated cancellations with OSU; targeting high-priced, high-inflation journals; and relying heavily on resource sharing arrangements (the UO ranks 9^th in the ARL for interlibrary borrowing). The University has also increased our share of grant overhead funding (3% of the total). However, given the growth in the federal deficit, this level of support is uncertain at best. The library is in the middle of a campaign, and a significant portion of our efforts are devoted to creating collections endowments. The income will be used for monograph and other one-time expenditures, however.

2. What is the impact on students and faculty?

These mitigating strategies, however, can not address the problem completely. Faculty research and grants are adversely affected by the lack of immediate access to current scholarship. Teaching and learning is affected by the lack of access to the best journals. Students tend to rely on what is convenient if they do not have immediate access to the best and most reliable information. And within the state, there is a lack of diversity among our respective collections that supports robust resource sharing activity.