The Research Information Network (RIN) has published a new briefing note, Scholarly books and journals at risk: responding to the challenges of a changing economy. The briefing note warns that if libraries are forced to make budget cuts on their journals and books subscriptions, then the UK's ability to support world class research and teaching could be put into jeopardy.
The recent dramatic fall in the value of sterling is projected to have seriously damaged university library purchasing budgets, putting scholarly books and journals at risk. This briefing note aims to inform and motivate universities, funding bodies, researchers, librarians and publishers, to work together to find creative, practical and sustainable solutions to this serious and unforeseen challenge to the vitality of the UK's research base.
University staff and students depend on good access to scholarly publications. A key function of libraries is to broker the acquisition of books and journals on behalf of universities, and libraries must ensure that their purchasing decisions represent the best value for their institution. The current budgetary challenges could do fundamental damage to research and scholarship, and compromise universities' capacity to pursue their core business - therefore these challenges will affect far more than just the library.
Through this briefing note, RIN calls on all the key stakeholder groups to work together to find solutions to ensure that the scholarly publications link in the chain from genius to wealth creation is not damaged beyond repair.
The briefing note is available online at www.rin.ac.uk/scholarly-journals-books-risk.
