Citations: The Newsletter of the New Mexico State University Library

              CITATIONS
(A)
The Newsletter of the New Mexico State University Library
Vol. 12, No. 1   January 1997
Materials Budget Reduced to 1993-94 Level
By Charles Townley, Dean <ctownley@lib.nmsu.edu>
Over the next few weeks faculty will be asked to help the University
Library reduce 1997-98 spending for library materials and information
to 1993-94 levels. This reduction is the result of three key factors. The
cost of scholarly information has increased more than 10 percent per year
for the last four years—vying with medical care as the fastest growing
cost center in higher education. Second, the NMSU Library's permanent
materials and information budget has not increased significantly during
the same four years. Third, the one-time bond money that allowed the
University Library to maintain its buying power since 1993-94 is now
exhausted.
NMSU students and faculty have been working since 1995 to address this
situation, with little success to date. Last year, for example, the Faculty
Senate passed a memorial describing the central role of library services
and resources to teaching and learning, research, and service. The Senate
Library Committee and the Graduate Student Council are aware of the
issue and support increased funding. The Commission on Higher
Education proposed an increase in the library materials budget of 7.3
percent but this was not approved by the legislative finance committee.
We must begin planning a major reduction.      \
The Library needs your help in this difficult time. The total materials and
information budget must be cut by 27.6% to return to the $1,884,686
materials and information budget of 1993-94. This reduction must be
made so that your access to information will be maintained insofar as
possible. To accomplish this, purchases for the collection must be
reduced an even larger percentage so that access tools can be maintained
and documents purchased on demand. Journal subscriptions and books
for the general collection must be reduced by 32.6 percent. Reference
tools and other standing orders that are used to access information will be
cut 20 percent. Purchases of retrospective collections in key research
areas must be eliminated. Indexes, abstracts, and full-text services will
be maintained, increasingly in electronic and web-based formats. Document delivery will grow by 35% to deliver materials no longer available
because of the 32.6 percent cut in journals and books.
The percentage allocations in the library materials and information
budget will change modestly. Journal subscriptions will fall from 65.1
percent to 62.1 percent of the budget. Book orders will fall from 17.4
percent to 15.2 percent. Standing orders will increase to 8.6 percent of
More Library Services
On the Web
by Holly Reynolds, Circulation
<nreynold@lib.nmsu.edu>
The Circulation unit is pleased to
the opening of the Online Circulation Desk
on the World Wide Web <http://
lib.nmsu.edu/circulation>. UsingtheWeb,
patrons will be able to access fill-out forms
for requesting recalls and renewals. In
addition, the Circulation homepage links
with the Electronic Reserves Desk, where
NMSU faculty members and teaching assistants will find forms for submitting reserves and students can access the electronic reserve collection.
Last j
»r, forty percent of all renewals
(continued on page 2)
Library Research Servio
Transborder Library Forum in Juarez4
Do Library Research Naked... 5
Federal Funding Opportunities 6
Guide to Government Information    7
Sebastian Art Exhibit 7
In Memory of Barbara Tucker 7
Library Tours/Workshops 1(
Library Opens New Staff Lounge     1 i
Library Holds RisktakingWorkshop 11
Library/Computer Conference
(continued on page 2)