From: Joseph Esposito <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:04:59 -0400

All the numbers are screwy.  Books and journals COMBINED comprise 24% of a
library's total budget????  I know facilities management is not free, but
could these figures be true?

Joe Esposito


On Thu, Mar 28, 2013 at 7:44 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Deborah Lenares <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:14:31 -0400
>
> To possibly add a bit more context to these numbers, it's very
> possible that libraries are not reporting figures that accurately
> represent spending on "books" and "journals."  The increase in
> spending on serials since 1999 has certainly been impacted by the
> availability of annually renewing databases.  Increased spending on
> "journals" is not an indication that journal pricing is out of
> control, it's an indication that libraries are buying more annually
> renewing resources.  These annually renewing resources might also
> include statistical databases, ebooks packages subscribed to or
> purchased on an annual basis, discovery services, full text databases,
> etc.
>
> Although I have admittedly not had time to read the entire article,
> the suggestion that the increase in spending on serials can be
> attributed to big deals I think is incorrect.  The article claims that
> multi-year contracts with 7%+ increases are typical.  I have never
> signed even a one year agreement that locks in a price cap that high.
> I very much doubt that that is a "typical" amount for a multi-year
> contract.
>
> Deborah Lenares
>
> Manager Acquisitions and Resource Sharing
> Science Collection Management Librarian
> Clapp Library - Wellesley College
> Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 10:02 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
> > Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:05:36 -0500
> >
> > This passage was of particular interest to me:
> >
> > > Since 1999, spending on books has fallen by almost a fifth in real
> terms, and from almost 12
> > > per cent of libraries' total spending to just over 8 per cent.
> Expenditure on serials, on the
> > > other hand, has increased sharply: from just under £70 million to over
> £130 million. In real
> > > terms this represents an increase of 63 per cent; journals' share of
> total library spendingrose
> > > from 16 per cent to almost 20 per cent.
> >
> > I was under the impression that this change in the ratio of book to
> > journal spending had ceased during the past decade, and that spending
> > on books had leveled off.  I can't cite any studies to that effect
> > right off the top of my head, but I wonder if others can?
> >
> > Sandy Thatcher
> >
> >
> > At 11:25 AM -0700 3/27/13, Heather Morrison wrote:
> >
> > > Interesting preprint from Harvie, Lightfoot, Lilley and Weir:
> > >
> https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/9689/1/What%20are%20we%20to%20do%20with%20feral%20publishers%20final%20August%2031.pdf
> > >
> > > best,
> > >
> > > Heather G. Morrison
>