Budget Actions Taken in 2007-2008
to redress projected shortfall for 2008-2009
Each year The Library experiences inflationary increases that compound from year to year. The Library has not received any new recurring state money for six years. These two facts result in a structural deficit that grows annually.
In Fall 2007, looking at available state funding we estimated a deficit in 2008-09 of ~$2.99 million, based on inflation rates of
- 0% for monographs
- 3% for continuations (e.g., monographic series)
- 8% for serials
- 5% for electronic packages
Beginning in 2007-08, we embarked on a program to use these extraordinary funds to cover the deficit in state funding for routine collections costs:
- asking individual selectors to spend down any carry forward funds
- asking individual selectors to use endowment income
- using AUL-managed endowment and gift income
- drawing on non-collections Library one-time funds
- naming the library collections as one of two primary goals for our internal and campus development efforts.
These strategies, however, will not last over time. If no new recurring state funds are received, we face a "cliff" in the not-so-distant future when non-state funds have all been spent and serious reductions in library collecting patterns will need to occur.
