State of the Library Address
William Gray Potter
University Librarian and Associate
Provost
August 15, 2002
Organization of Talk
• Review of past year
• Challenges/Opportunities in FY03
• Longer term prospects
Student Learning Center
• Construction continues
• Occupancy expected during FY03
• SLC Support Partnership
– Working on operational details
• SLC Steering Committee
– Sorting out policy issues
Special Collections Libraries
Building
• Regents added to their list of major capital
projects at their meeting June 11, 2002.
• Governor and the Legislature provided special
planning funds for this project.
• Working with architects to refine design
• This building will cost $36M, with the
Libraries raising one-third.
• To date, we have raised $8.6M.
Development
• Substantial progress in fund raising.
• Commitments and collections totaling
$3,140,486
• Significant increase over the previous
year.
Electronic Reserves
• First year of operation
• Very well received by faculty
• Seeing a 40% increase already this year
Increased Use of the Libraries
• Circulation of library collections increased by
27% over the previous year to 451,637
• Number of people coming into the Main and
the Science Libraries increased by 14% to
almost 1,600,000.
• At the same time, the use of electronic
resources continues to increase.
Increased Efficiency
• Following a revamping of workflow,
turnaround times for ordering,
receiving, and cataloging books has
improved dramatically.
• Often with fewer staff.
Improved Collection Control
• Added over 34,000 records of our serial
holdings to GOLD, a statewide database
• Redirected salary savings into a special
project that greatly improved inventory
control of the collection.
Electronic Theses and
Dissertations
• We now accept theses and dissertations
in electronic format.
• These will be cataloged and made
available through the online catalog.
Digital Library of Georgia
• Selected collections added this past year:
– Joseph Henry Lumpkin Family Papers,
– Baldy Editorial Cartoons,
– History of the University of Georgia by Thomas
Walter Reed,
– Cornelius C. Platter Civil War Diary,
– Barnard’s Photographic Views of the Sherman
Campaign,
– Robert E. Williams Photographic Collection:
African-Americans in the Augusta, Ga. Vicinity ca.
1872-1898.
Georgia Writers’ Hall of Fame
• Formally dedicated
• Ceremony attended by more than 100
guests including family and friends of
the honored authors
• Event received news coverage in and
out of Georgia.
Interlibrary Lending and
Borrowing
• Continue to lend more items than we
borrow by a ratio of 5 to 1.
Map Collection
• Map and air photo circulation increased
by 10,000 items this year after doubling
the year before.
• Driven by commercial firms making
heavy use of this collection for planning
real estate developments and other
projects.
Media Department and
Archives
• Screenings of significant programs from
the Media Archives were held in
conjunction with other units on campus.
Foot Soldier Project
• In partnership with several departments
on campus, the Russell Library is working
to document the lives of people who
worked on the front lines of the Civil
Rights Movement.
• President Adams provided a Venture
Grant to complete documentation on
Hamilton Holmes.
Baldy Cartoon Database
• A large collection of cartoons from the
collection of Clifford Baldowski has been
digitized by the Russell Library and
made available through the Digital
Library of Georgia.
Legends of the Deadball Era
• An exhibit based around the baseball
card collection of Senator Russell has
received wide coverage and proved to
be very popular.
Electronic Journals
• The Electronic Journal Locator, a list of
electronic journals offered by the
Libraries, increased from 25,700 entries
in FY01 to 31,600 entries in FY02, a
23% increase.
Access to Electronic Resources
• A pilot project to integrate the databases
offered by GALILEO with those offered by the
University Libraries has been successful and is
being improved and expanded to other
libraries.
• We now spend over $1M on e-resources
• Research Central a major advance as well
Wireless Network
• Funded by the Student Technology Fee,
wireless local area networks are being
established in the Main and Science
Libraries.
• In addition, twenty laptops have been
purchased for students to check out
and use with the wireless network.
Use of Electronic Journals by
Faculty
• Surveyed faculty in the sciences and social
sciences
• Electronic journals heavily used.
• Faculty use of journals breaks down:
– 1/3 to library print journals
– 1/3 to personal print journals
– 1/3 to library e-journals
• Earlier studies found higher reliance on
personal copies.
• E-journals match personal copies for
convenience.
Job Classification Analysis
• Libraries was first to participate in the
campus-wide new position classification
structure.
• Every classified position was identified,
documented, and analyzed in the early
spring.
• UGA HR is in the process of gathering data
and analyzing data
• Preliminary classification structure expected
in December
• Final classification structure in place by April
Looking forward
What can we expect in FY03
Budget Cuts
• We started FY03 with a 5% reduction
– Reduction to book budget was restored
• Since July 1, Governor has ordered a
1% and a 2% holdback
• Impact on Libraries ~ $280,000 or
1.67%
• Roughly split between book budget and
personnel/operations
Library Materials Budget
• FY02, $9M spent
– half to journals
– $1M to e-resources
• FY03, expect to spend $9.5M
– $5M to journals
– $1.1M to e-resources
• BUT BUDGET REMAINS AT $8M
• MAKE UP GAP WITH ONE TIME FUNDS
• IF ONE-TIME MONEY GOES AWAY, WE FACE
A MAJOR CANCELLATION PROJECT
Library Materials Expenditures
$11,000,000
$10,500,000
$10,000,000
$9,500,000
$9,000,000
$8,500,000
Adds/One-Time
$8,000,000
Base Budget
$7,500,000
Need
$7,000,000
$6,500,000
$6,000,000
$5,500,000
$5,000,000
FY '95
FY '96
FY '97
FY '98
FY '99
FY '00
FY '01
FY' 02
FY '03 (est.)
Occupy The Student Learning
Center
• Will be completed in 2003
• Nature of library services will change
dramatically.
• Indeed, undergraduate experience at
UGA will change
• First classes in Fall 2003, but may see
library portion open sooner
• Need more staff !!!
Design Special Collections
Libraries Building
• Governor and Legislature appropriated
$240,000 in planning funds
• Will supplement with private funds
• Plans for this building will be advanced
to 50% completion December 2002.
• This will assist us in fund raising and in
securing collections
Assessment
• We need an appropriate program of
assessment
• Our future budgets will depend upon proving
that the services we offer make a difference
• We gather lots of data now but not well
assembled
• Caroline Killens has agreed to take on
assessment as an additional duty
Enhance Access to E-resources
Think of this effort as a 3 legged stool
1. Access to local resources – the new
DOOR will handle
2. Linking citations to full text – e.g., SFX
3. Cross database searching
Cooperative effort with GALILEO
GIL Express
• Ability to borrow books among USG
institutions using Universal Catalog and
Universal Borrowing in GIL
• Even the most pessimistic among us
(and we know who he is) expect UB/UC
to be implemented this year
Looking Beyond FY03
• Student Learning Center will change our lives
• Special Collections Libraries Building will also
have profound implications, e.g., how do we
use the space we free up
• Escalating costs of library materials will
continue to be a problem
• Balancing print and electronic
• Restoration of lost funds and staff ??
Where do we stand?
• Not the best of times, not the worst of times
• Better than most state supported academic
libraries
• Blessed with superior staff with a
commitment to service
• As University grows in size and stature,
library will also grow
• Pulled by challenges and opportunities, but
we will face them
Pulled by Challenge and Opportunity?
We will be happy to entertain
questions