State of the Library Address
William Gray Potter
University Librarian and Associate
Provost
August 15, 2003
Organization of Talk
• Review of past year
• Challenges/Opportunities in FY04
FIRE
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Could have been worse
Main Library will reopen on August 18
Reconstruction of 2d floor will take months
Expect that we will install fire suppression
Thanks for all for their help and patience
Photos at end of talk
BUDGET
• We started FY03 with 5% cut
– Book budget restored
• Additional 3.67% cut in FY03
• Since FY02:
– Library Materials - $287,000 (3.6%)
– Personnel/Operations – $780,000 (8.5%)
• More to come
– Planning 2.5% cut
– Possibly 5% more for FY05
Student Learning Center
• Now occupied – will change our lives
• Summer experience very good
• Think about the building in use
– 2200 classroom seats
– 2200 library seats
• Thanks to Florence and everyone else
• Still need hall monitors
• Formal dedication on Oct. 24
Special Collections Libraries
Building
• Using $240,000 from state, we have
refined the plans for this building
• Given the economy, this building is
some years off
• This building will cost $36M, with the
Libraries raising one-third.
• To date, we have raised over $8M
Other highlights of FY03
• Library materials – despite budget cuts, we
avoided cancellations
• Library services – thanks to everyone, we
maintained
– Measures stayed constant
• Special Collections – important acquisitions
• Georgia Docs project recognized by American
Association of Law Libraries
Electronic Journals
• The Electronic Journal Locator, a list of
electronic journals offered by the
Libraries, continues to increase
• Use continues to rise – Elsevier up 60%
– 89,000 articles downloaded increased to
142,000
– Other publishers show similar results
Looking forward
What can we expect in FY04
Library Materials Budget
• FY03, $9.3M spent
– half to journals
– $1.1M to e-resources
• FY04, expect to spend $9.8M
– $5M to journals
– $1.1M to e-resources
• BUT BUDGET REDUCED TO $7.5M
• MAKE UP GAP WITH ONE TIME FUNDS
• IF ONE-TIME MONEY GOES AWAY, WE FACE
A MAJOR CANCELLATION PROJECT
Ejournals without a net
• We will move to electronic only for some
major publishers
– Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, Kluwer, Blackwell
Scientific
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Save some money
Provide more backfiles with some
Save check-in, binding, shelving
These publishers represent a significant
portion of our journal expenditures
Repair Fire Damage
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Open on Monday 8/18
Repair/Replace materials on 2d floor
Renovate 2d floor
Determine implications of fire suppression
Student Learning Center
• 200,000 square feet gross
• $43,000,000
• Combines classrooms and electronically
supported library
• Expect that the building will transform
teaching and learning at Georgia
• New academic center of campus
Impact of Student Learning
Center
Our Assumptions
• Use will be heavy (test by observation, people
counters)
• Use of main library will not decrease – use by
students who now study elsewhere (will test
by exit counts)
• Students want to study in in groups (will test
by observation)
• Greater opportunities for informal interaction
btw faculty and students?? Difficult to test
Impact of Student Learning
Center (continued)
• Students use will focus on study, instructional
support, short reference – still use main &
science for in-depth research (analysis of
term paper citations)
• Use will be heavily undergraduate (difficult to
test)
• Increasing reliance upon electronic
publications will make the SLC more valuable,
more autonomous as time goes by
Student Learning Center
Unknowns
• Do we have proper mix of seating
• Will students need public access computers in
future or will they carry their own
• Do we need digital media lab –- scanners,
high end graphic computers
• Will the nature of reference questions change
• How will library and computer staff work
together – different cultures
Assessment
• We need an appropriate program of
assessment
• Our future budgets will depend upon
proving that the services we offer make
a difference
• We will work on LibQual over the
coming year
Enhance Access to E-resources
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Local resource management via GALILEO
SFX – major change
– Cooperative effort with Emory, Tech, GSU, MCG
GIL
• UC/UB ?????
Short term goal 1
Address the structural deficit in the
Library Materials Budget or cancel
journals. We face a deficit of almost
$2M or 20% due to cost increases and
a stagnant budget. A strategy to
address this problem is needed to avoid
the cancellation of science journals.
Short term goal 2
Open and operate the library component
of the Student Learning Center. Using
funding provided by the University for
new staff and with the transfer of
existing staff, this building will be open
and operated in conjunction with EITS,
OISD, and the Vice President for
Instruction.
Short term goal 3
Implement SFX software to enhance access to
electronic resources. This software has been
identified and it will be acquired and
implemented as a joint project with GALILEO,
Emory, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State. A
plan will also be developed to expand its use
throughout GALILEO
Short term goal 4
Institute new assessment project using
LIBQUAL. A library task force will
design the use of this tool and begin to
gather data well in advance of the next
program review.
Short term goal 5
Develop new measures for Student
Learning Center. This new building will
transform our library services. It is
important that we have appropriate
measures to track the use of this facility
and to help us to reconfigure areas and
services if necessary.
Short term goal 6
Continue development activities
capitalizing on naming opportunities.
We are fortunate to have a wealth of
naming opportunities in the Student
Learning Center and in the proposed
Special Collections Libraries Building.
Short term goal 7
Secure additional storage space. The
Library Repository is rapidly nearing
capacity and additional off-site storage
for books and other materials is
needed. Expansion of the Library
Repository will be given special
attention.
State of the Library
• Acronym SOL has extra meaning this year
• Fire and budget have hit us hard
• But
– Student Learning Center is a major milestone
– Excellent staff
• University will continue to grow and prosper –
library will also
Now some fire photos
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