Frequently Asked Questions

What is the FY09 Libraries Materials Budget Allocation?
$10,461,217. This includes monographs, periodicals, serials, databases, and binding for library materials.

What is the anticipated FY10 allocation?
The FY10 budget allocation for library materials is not yet known. Currently the Libraries is planning for a ‘flat’ budget, or the same amount as FY09.

How much funding would be needed to keep our current subscriptions?
Based on annual price increases for the past few years, we anticipate needing an additional $1 to $1.2 million to continue to subscribe to the journals, serials, and databases we currently have and to purchase approximately the same number of books.

Why is this materials review and cancellation project happening now at Purdue?
For more than ten years, Purdue Libraries has received additional funding from the University to help cover the high inflation rates for scholarly materials, which have averaged approximately 7-8% for Purdue in recent years. With the current University budget situation and the likelihood that next year’s budget will be constrained, it unlikely that the Libraries will receive additional funding.

Why does it seem to be happening so fast?
During this spring semester, Libraries faculty members must work with departments and faculty to determine what titles to cut because by August, the Libraries must work with publishers to cancel journal subscriptions for January 2010. Libraries faculty value and rely on feedback from departments and campus faculty and researchers to make these important and difficult cancellation decisions. To meet the August deadline, librarians and faculty must work together this spring, 2009, before many faculty members leave campus.

Are other Universities seeing similar cuts?
Yes. Many other libraries, including other CIC libraries, are facing similar challenges. Rising journal subscription prices have made it difficult for libraries and universities worldwide to provide needed resources for their faculty, researchers, and students. For 2009, the overall increase for periodical subscriptions is projected at 8.7%, with arts and humanities titles overall increasing at 9.5%, social sciences titles at 9.4%, and science titles at 8.5%.

Why aren't staff salaries, etc. used to cover increased serials costs?
The Libraries budget allocation, like those of other units on campus, is separated into Supplies and Equipment (S&E) and Salaries and Wages (S&W). These funds cannot be used to cover library materials expenditures.

Can endowment funds or gift monies be used to cover these increases?
Yes, when gifts and endowments are designated for library materials. The Libraries utilizes gift and endowment funding for library materials budgets whenever possible, particularly for one-time purchases such as books and monographs. To count on gift or endowment funding for recurring or ongoing costs, such as for journals and databases, is difficult due to the fluctuating nature of endowment growth and one-time gifts and the ongoing annual financial commitment to these types of resources.

Why do libraries pay more for subscriptions than do I do as a faculty member/researcher?
Subscription rates for libraries (institutional subscriptions) are typically higher than individual subscription rates because of the number of readers/scholars who then have access to that institutional subscription.

Where does the funding I bring in to the University as part of my grants go? Does the Libraries receive percentage?
The funding Purdue receives from grants comes to the University as general income and goes into the “general pot” for redistribution. In the past, there has been no clear indicator of how much of the Libraries budget comes from F&A. We are working with the Business Office to see if any additional information is now available.

Which costs more—print subscriptions or electronic subscriptions?
This varies by title and publisher. Sometimes publishers ‘bundle’ print+online access together for one price; sometimes a savings can be realized by canceling one format. The Libraries receives more than 1,000 subscriptions in both print and online format. We are investigating cost savings related to moving to online-only as many of these titles as possible.