LB.01.03
April 23, 2001
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE Committee on the Library
(Final;Action) LB.01.03 Resolution on the Report of the Library Allocations Steering Committee (LASC) Summary of LASC Report and Recommendations The entire report is available from the Provost's Office or here. The report notes that the Library is no longer funded at a level commensurate with the University's quality in teaching, research, and service, and this chronic underfunding has severely constrained the Library's ability to allocate for collection development in both continuing and new curricular and research areas. The report suggests several ways in which the Library budget might be increased. The LASC made the following specific recommendations: · Tie Library allocation policy more closely to current and emerging University priorities.
· Set base collection development budgets for each departmental library at a level of approximately 98% of the prior year's budget, allocating the remaining 2% between departmental libraries in the same manner as the new monies.
· Establish an Opportunity Fund to support collection-related needs during the academic year.
· Allocate new monies based upon specific proposals from each departmental library, phasing out (over three years) the partial allocation based on a demographic formula.
· Establish an advisory committee, chaired by the University Librarian and appointed by the Provost, to provide a long-range, strategic view of the Library and its role in the University.
· Develop strategies to make access to scholarly works more economical. RESOLUTION Whereas the Library Allocations Steering Committee (LASC) has prepared a detailed report with recommendations to the Provost concerning how funds for materials are allocated within the Library (summarized above); and Whereas the Senate Committee on the Library (SCL) has been informed on the progress of the LASC activities throughout the year, has reviewed and discussed this report and recommendations, and concurs with the recommendations; and Whereas the recommendations reflect views of the University community made in a series of public hearings held during 2000-01 and comments made when the committee recently solicited faculty response to the report (a few faculty submitted comments concerning the report but none proposed substantive changes to the recommendations); Be it resolved that the Senate convey to the Provost its endorsement of these recommendations. Respectfully submitted, Senate Committee on the Library
Leslie Struble, Chair
Christopher Degner
Michael Murphy
Meredith Blumthal
Lyle Fettig
F. Adele Proctor
John Conley
Paula Kaufman (ex officio)
Peter W. Sauer
Kenneth Cuno
Tony Kaufman
Christopher Silver