Electronic research databases provider EBSCO, US, conducted a survey in February 2010, to assess the impact of current economic conditions on libraries. Many respondents reported that their libraries have been impaired by budget pressures and that they continue to look for cost-saving strategies heading into 2010-2011.
Libraries of all sizes were represented in the survey - 25 percent of respondents were at libraries with more than 25,000 users and 35 percent at libraries with 5,000 or fewer users. Roles within the libraries varied, with the most respondents representing the Director level. While the economy has made for a rough year for libraries, librarians indicate that the coming year does not promise any relief and may actually be worse. Eighty-three percent of librarians reported either budget cuts or no budget growth during the 2009-2010 year. ARL libraries were especially hard hit with 64 percent reporting budget decreases. Expectations for 2010-2011 are similar with a total of 85 percent of respondents expecting decreased or flat budgets.
As librarians face more demands as a result of the move to e-resources, budgets have forced them to reduce staff, resulting in a squeeze on resources needed to perform essential tasks. The EBSCO survey shows that libraries are coping with the same or increased amounts of work with fewer staff.
Librarians are dealing with reduced budgets not only by reducing staff but also in various content acquisition strategies. These include dropping P+E combinations in favour of e-only, reviewing content to eliminate duplication in databases and renegotiating or 'breaking up' 'big deal' packages.
The overwhelming selection of usage as very important to most survey respondents could mean more pressure on industry players to become COUNTER compliant and provide regular usage statistics. As funding issues persist into the next year, content evaluation will continue to play an integral role in cost-cutting decisions, the survey noted.
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