At Emory Libraries, 29 Positions Are Cut, Including Three Librarians

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Service and reference desks are consolidated

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 10/01/2009

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4 percent budget cut
No reduction in hours
Collections budget will take hit next year

The Emory University Libraries, Atlanta, have cut 29 positions, six of them vacant, in order to save $1 million, or about 4 percent. Three librarians, among 27 staffers, lost their jobs.

“We are taking these painful steps with a sense of regret, but also with gratitude for the contributions of our departing colleagues,” Rick Luce, vice provost and director, told the Emory Report. “With rapidly changing technologies in the world of information access, storage, dissemination, and publishing, we would be remiss in our responsibilities if we did not begin to re-direct operations and resources to meet the new demands of the 21st century research library.”

Consolidation time
While no hours are being cut, several service and reference desks will be consolidated and the back office for collection acquisitions has been reduced.

" Our long-term plans include experimenting with—and collecting student, faculty and staff feedback on—consolidating circulation, reference and other service desks so our users don’t have to be sent from place to place," Luce told LJ. "We want to look at offering a one-stop information center, which not only would be easier to staff deeply with fewer employees—it would make getting assistance of all kinds easier, more efficient, and less time-consuming for our users."

"Our guiding principle is that we will take a strategic perspective for our future, while supporting the academic mission of Emory University," he said. "That included a commitment to maintaining and enhancing the Emory experience for students and faculty, as well as looking at where the organization needs to be in serving the university not just today, but in three to five years."

Balancing cuts
"In FY 2009, we eliminated 7.5 vacant positions, curtailed new hiring, reduced travel costs, made some initial collection acquisition cuts, and reduced expenses in a number of areas," he noted. "Additionally, individual departments identified other operating efficiencies and cost cutting initiatives that are being implemented."

"Our long-term goal is to balance the cuts between staffing and collections acquisition," he said. While Emory has just cut jobs, he said that in FY 2011 the cuts likely "will come from the collections budget; those cuts will be made in consultation with faculty."