Facing the Serials Crisis
Changing budget allocations in a
time of uncertainty
Larry Schmidt
University of Wyoming
ASEE Annual Conference 2004
Session 3241
The University of Wyoming
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12,021 Undergraduate
students
2,229 Graduate
Students
Land Grant Institution
State’s only provider of
baccalaureate and
graduate education,
research and outreach
services.
College of Engineering

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1198 Undergraduate
Engineering students
179 Graduate
Students
79 Engineering
Faculty & Academic
Professionals
Engineering Departments at the
University of Wyoming
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Civil & Architectural
Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Computer Science
Electrical & Computer
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Atmospheric Science*
The University of Wyoming
Libraries
Collection Development Process
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Department allocations
Combined serial & monograph budgets
Originally used factor-based allocation system
History-based decisions became the norm
Liaison-based system of communication
The Need for Change
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What is the cause of the budget crisis at
the UW?
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Library working with a flat budget
Serial inflation greater than the consumer
price index
Allocations based on “history plus increment”
Allocations as “faculty money”
Problems with the current system
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Books
 Book budgets cannibalized by serials costs
 Subsequent book budgets were dependent on one
time funding
 Dated collection
 Faculty book requests in support of classes were often
unfilled.
Serials
 Continued serials cuts by all departments
 Budgets of most departments went only to serials
 Some departments were unable to purchase society
packages.
Engineering Serials Breakdown
Other
publications
7%
FY 2003
Major society
publications
29%
Major
commercial
publications
64%
Serial Costs for 2003
Cost in dollars
Cost comparison of commercial and society
publications at UW
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
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Society publications
Engineering Department
Commercial publications
Electrical Engineering
The Catalyst For Change
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Electrical Engineering was unable to
purchase core material
NO set budget for any purchase of books
Society package cost would soon exceed
their available allocation
IEEE package cost, the original budget allocation
and the total serial costs from FY 2002 - 2004
$50,000
$45,000
$40,000
$35,000
$30,000
$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0
2002
2003
2004
Year
IEEE package cost
Original allocation
Total serial cost
Other problems with the current
budget system in engineering
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Focus on journals supporting individual
research
Undergraduate book collection is suffering
Collection is dated and incomplete

Most current FE Exam study guide available in
the library is 1990
Book & Serial Purchases for
FY 2003
Allocation
Budget
Chemical Engineering
FY 2003
Books
Serials
$950
$40,835
Civil Engineering
$0
$66,648
Computer Science
$0
$45,500
Electrical Engineering
$0
$41,662
Mechanical Engineering
$6,680
$62,640
Total Engineering
$7,630
$253,039
Deciding on a new system
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More opportunities to purchase books
Allow for greater purchasing power for
package deals
Support undergraduate education
Support graduate and faculty research
Process for Change
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Evaluate current databases & article
indexes and costs associated with them
Evaluate engineering society packages
Analyze the high cost of commercial press
journals – publicize inflation history
Analyze usage statistics and impact factors
Communication across the college
Collapsed Allocation Concept
Budget for all engineering serials and books in
one allocation
College of Engineering and University priorities
determine purchases of serials and books
Proposed Engineering Allocation Flow Chart
Association Packages
Undergraduate Collections
(primarily serials)
(primarily books)
Approval plan
University publications
2nd Tier Associations
Alternative press
(SPARC)
Interdisciplinary
Serials
Purchase requests
I. Support instruction
II. Support interdisciplinary
research
Document Delivery
General engineering
(approval plan)
(engineering account))
Periodicals in support of research
Books in support of research
Serials Formats
ILL
Document Delivery
Print only
Print & electronic only
Electronic only
First Year Results
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Over $11,000 in book purchases
Canceled high priced journals with low
usage statistics
Increased purchasing power with move to
electronic only packages
Transferred some packages and titles to
the protected core account
Successes
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Greater flexibility for changes in
curriculum
Shift away from faculty perception that
department allocations were “theirs”
Improved communication
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Between engineering departments
Between College of Engineering and UW
Libraries
The Process Today
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Working on a “do more with less”
philosophy
The University of Wyoming Libraries
allocation process is still evolving.
Engineering faculty still willing to work
with me
Conclusion
Process has prepared engineering for an
uncertain future
Communication between engineering faculty
and the Libraries is strong
Faculty are much more aware of the
publishing process and are expressing
their desire to force change in that
process.