Budget Reduction Strategies
Our immediate goal is to provide access to as much unique content as possible. Our underlying goal is to build a sustainable financial model that will provide ongoing, reliable access to materials wherever they reside.
- Reduce duplication of content — journals available electronically.
In 2001, budgetary restrictions led to the development of a UCSC Library policy specifying acquisition of content in one format only, the preferred format for journals being electronic. Over the past eight years, we have reduced our duplicate print subscriptions, as allowed by our contacts with publishers (for local subscriptions) and CDL (for our cooperatively licensed content). In this current budget reduction, a final sweep is being done to eliminate duplicate subscriptions while preserving access to the content.
Regarding long-term access to print versions of the journals, the UC Libraries are collecting centrally an archival print copy for over twenty of the largest journal publishers, including Blackwell, Elsevier, IEEE, Sage, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley. This Shared Print program provides the Library with more flexibility regarding on-site collection management and at the same time reduces the processing and acquisitions costs associated with managing two formats.
- Reduce duplication of content — other formats.
UCSC has and will continue to realize savings by discontinuing hardcopy versions of other materials, e.g., newspapers and reference tools, to which we have electronic access.
- Analyze usage and coverage of abtracting & indexing databases and reduce redundant and/or low-use subscriptions.
Historically, many of the abstracting and indexing databases (e.g., BIOSIS, INSPEC, MLA Bibliography, and PsycInfo) were obtained through the California Digital Library (CDL) Shared Collections & Acquisitions Program. These SCAP titles were made available to all campuses but were centrally funded through CDL. Beginning back in FY2003-04, the responsibility for funding many of these titles began to transfer back to the local campuses. This trend is continuing and it is anticipated that within several years, all of these SCAP-funded databases must be funded locally, further increasing the pressure on already decreasing collections budgets.
Over the next six months, UCSC librarians will analyze usage and coverage of all databases to which we subscribe. The goal is to reduce our overall investment in these databases by targeting low-use databases, as well as analyzing the amount of redundancy of sources/coverage within our current subscriptions.
- Analyze journal titles to which UCSC subscribes locally and cancel some titles.
The Library has approximately 3600 journals and subscription-based resources to which we subscribe locally (no CDL coinvestment or licensing collaboration with other UC campuses). These journals support disciplinary research though on a campus with a large amount of interdisciplinary work like Santa Cruz, the Library recognizes that subjects and disciplines are not mutually exclusive.
In making cuts to local subscriptions, the Library will employ a reduction strategy that parallels our licensing expenditures so as not to affect any one division unfairly. We will make every effort to honor University priorities and minimize impacts. However, this reduction is so large that the Library will not be able to meet everyone's needs or requests. All instructional and research programs will be impacted. Faculty and researchers will have an opportunity to see all titles being considered for cancellation and may submit comments on any title on the journal cancellation lists.
- Analyze journal packages licensed through CDL. Work with CDL to determine where cost reductions may be possible, including cuts of titles within packages or complete journal packages.
UCSC will support the California Digital Library (CDL) in negotiations with publishers to achieve a 10-15% decrease in overall price per package. In cases where CDL is not successful with publisher negotiations, UCSC will analyze the particular publisher package(s) for opportunities to cut titles from a package to achieve a price reduction. In some cases, entire packages may be eliminated in favor of local subscriptions to key titles previously offered through package.