University Libraries
University of Georgia
Annual Report
March 31, 2004
Highlighted Achievements

Student Learning Center – At the beginning of the fall semester, the University
opened the new Student Learning Center. A combination classroom building and
electronic library, this 236,000 square-foot building has proven to be phenomenally
successful with students and faculty. In his State of the University Address, President
Adams said: “The opening of the Student Learning Center may have had the greatest
impact on the intellectual climate of this institution since Old College was
constructed.”

Library Fire Recovery -- A fire in the Main Library on July 23 was a defining event
this year. The recovery from this fire was a major accomplishment for the Libraries
and for the University. Within three weeks, the building was open for the start of the
fall semester. The rebuilding of the damaged area is still ongoing, but disruption of
services have been minimal, considering the size and extent of the fire.

Electronic Journals – In response to budget cuts, the Libraries reduced expenditures
in part by converting selected journals that were received in both print and electronic
form to electronic only. This saved approximately $170,000 without losing access to
the content of the journals.

Linking Software – The Libraries provide access to over 400 databases and over
25,000 electronic journals. Most of the databases provide citations to journal articles,
but they do not inform the user if the citation is available in the 25,000 electronic
journals. Students and faculty who find a citation have to check a list to determine if
a journal is available online and then conduct another search. This has changed. The
Libraries now provide software, called SFX, that allows the user to ascertain if the
full text is available with just one click. SFX then retrieves and displays the article,
saving considerable time and effort and making the research process much more
efficient.

Library Materials -- Despite budget cuts, we maintained adequate funding for library
materials and avoided the cancellation of journals or electronic resources. This was
due in large part to one-time funds provided by the University Administration.

Personnel Budget – Despite budget cuts, we maintained adequate staffing for primary
library functions through flexible re-directing of job duties and sharing of staff
between and within departments.
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Strategic Plan Changes
No changes.
Strategic Plan Progress (Unit Level)
Progress has been made in the following strategic priorities:

Electronic Teaching Library – The Student Learning Center opened in August and is
universally perceived as a success. As President Adams said in his State of the
University Address: “The Student Learning Center is the centerpiece of a new
community of learning at UGA.” This new building embodies a spirit of cooperation
among all the units involved: the Libraries, EITS, OISD, the Vice President for
Instruction, and Student Affairs.

Special Collections Building – Planning and fund raising for this building continues.
The building is now on the Regents’ list of capital projects, but actual construction is
some years off.

The New Collection – While electronic publications are becoming increasingly
important, they are also placing additional stress upon the Libraries’ budget. Journal
costs also continue to increase at a rate well beyond inflation. Thus far, we have been
able to maintain these subscriptions through the combination of one-time funds from
the University and savings realized with the cancellation of the print version in favor
of the electronic version of some journals. However, as costs continue to increase
and the University’s budget is reduced, we will face even greater problems in future
years and cancellations will become inevitable. Any cancellations will be made in
consultation with the University Administration, the faculty, students, and the
University Council Libraries Committee.

Digital Library – The technology to create digital libraries of text, images, sound and
video continues to evolve. This past year, the Digital Library of Georgia made the
following collections available:
o Historic Architecture and Landscapes of Georgia.
o Georgia Air Photos
o Vanishing Georgia, a collection of historic photographs assembled by the
State Archives.
Strategic Plan Progress (Institutional Level)
Following is a brief report on the progress of the University’s strategic plan in
relation to the Libraries, referenced by page number to the University’s plan.
“A library of the highest quality.” (p. 7)
Despite the financial problems facing the University and the state, the library has been
able to maintain adequate levels of collection growth and service while at the same time
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adding electronic resources, notably electronic journals. This has been possible through
the use of one-time funding and the re-allocation of resources.
“Strategic Direction 1 – Building the New Learning Environment” (p. 14 & p. 17)
 Electronic Teaching Library – This is a significant component of the new Student
Learning Center, which opened in August 2003. Funding for minimal level staffing
has been provided and funds from the Student Technology Fee have been used to
acquire the needed student workstations.
Special Collections Libraries Building (p. 11)
 This building is now on the Regents’ list of capital projects.
 The University Libraries are committed to raise $12M in private funds, or one-third
of the cost, toward the construction of this building. To date, over $8M has been
raised.
 Preliminary design of this building was undertaken in FY2001 using private funds.
 The Governor and the Legislature provided $240,000 in FY2003 to advance and
refine the design of the building.
Research Investment – Building the Collection (p. 22)
 This planning priority calls for the Library Materials Budget to be treated as a utility
and receive a 5% increase to the base budget each year to cover inflationary increases
in the costs of journals and other publications.
 To date, this has not happened. The budget has not been increased since FY98 and
was actually reduced during FY03 and FY04.
 One-time funding has carried us through, but the gap between the budget and the
amount needed to continue our current level has widened to nearly $2M. It is
becoming increasingly difficult to close this gap with one-time funds.
 One-time funding from the Student Technology Fee and other sources should allow
the continued flow of books, journals, and electronic resources in FY04. However,
inflationary pressure continues and, should the one-time funding disappear, we could
be forced to reduce purchasing by up to 20%. This would greatly restrict access to
scientific and scholarly communication for our students and faculty.
Short Term Goals

Complete fire recovery. Renovation of the fire floor should be complete by mid-May.
Shelving will be erected and the books will be returned from storage over the
summer. By the anniversary of the fire, July 23, we expect to have the floor open
with the restored books available for use.

Replace material destroyed in the fire. We are actively acquiring replacements for
the materials destroyed in the fire and should have a significant proportion of these in
place during the coming year.

Accommodate reductions and price increases in the Library Materials Budget or
cancel journals. We face a deficit of almost $2M or 20% due to cost increases and a
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reduced budget. One-time funds have been used in the past to close this gap. If these
funds are not available, journals subscriptions will have to be dramatically reduced.

Expand SFX software to enhance access to electronic resources. This software
allows the linking of citation information in one database to the full text of journals in
another, saving considerable time and effort for students and faculty. The number of
databases covered will be expanded.

Conduct and evaluate first LIBQUAL survey. LIBQQUAL is a program of
standardized and coordinated questionnaires developed by the Association of
Research Libraries to help libraries assess their services and resources. UGA’s first
use of this survey will take place in the spring of 2004.

Co-sponsor the Lillian Smith Book Awards. The Libraries have partnered with the
Southern Regional Council to continue the Lillian Smith Books Awards. These
awards honor books that “enlarge public understanding of the diverse human
experience in the South.” The program will include an awards luncheon and a
writing workshop for high school students to be held at the University in the fall of
each year.

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.

Secure additional storage space. The Library Repository will be full within the next
two to three years. Additional off-site storage for books and other materials is
needed. Expansion of the Library Repository will be given special attention.
Assessing Effectiveness
As mentioned above, the Libraries will begin to use LIBQUAL, a survey
instrument developed by the Association of Research Libraries that provides qualitative
benchmarks. The results of the first survey will be available over the summer. In
addition, an Assessment group has been formed in the Libraries to promote and make
available any assessment activities and/or information concerning the Libraries. This
information is available through the Libraries’ Assessment website.
Most of the assessment measures currently used by the Libraries are quantitative.
Measuring the growth of collections or patterns of use over time does provide valuable
indicators of effectiveness. Following are some of these measures from the past year:

Recently released figures show that the Libraries have fallen from 31st to 32nd in the
membership rankings of the Association of Research Libraries. This continues a
general downward trend in these rankings.
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
The Libraries ranking in specific categories has fallen in the statistics reported by the
Association of Research Libraries. For example, we dropped from 33rd to 38th in
expenditures for library materials and from 42nd to 46th in total expenditures.
Use of online journals continues to rise. For example, use of the electronic journals
of one major publisher increased from 90,727 in 2002, to 113,986 in 2003, to 202,523
in 2004, an increase of 123% in two years and 78% in just the past year.
Use of the Student Learning Center has been dramatic. At the same time, use of the
Main Library appears to have decreased slightly. This may be due to the fact that
10% of the building is closed for renovation following the fire.
wgp 3/31/2004