Painful but Temporary Library Cuts at University of Wyoming
Plan to join Great Western Library Alliance delayed
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 10/08/2009
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- $4.3 million increase promised, then held
- Plan to join GWLA pushed back to 2014
- Library dean remains optimistic about state commitment
The 50% cut in the collections budget for the University of Wyoming (UW) Libraries this year can be looked at in two ways. From one angle, the loss of $4.3 million—part of an overall university reduction of 10% or $18.3 million—is a “drastic reduction,” as Dean of Libraries Maggie Farrell acknowledges, with UW now buying only books that are critical for teaching and research.
From another angle, however, it represents a strategic decision—an increase promised last year that was not fully appropriated—allowing the university to absorb an anticipated downturn but bounce back, with a commitment to the library, leaving Farrell “very optimistic” about the library’s future. “The President and Provost have been in constant communication with me providing details of the process and I firmly believe that this in no way undermines their commitment to library funding,” she told LJ.
GWLA target date pushed back
In a June 4 memo, President Tom Buchanan noted that, in its recent budget requests, “UW has successfully made the case that UW Libraries must be funded at a level consistent with UW’s role as a research university.” In the 2008 budget session, UW’s block grant was increased by $4.3 million a year, aiming to gain membership in the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), a consortium of 32 research libraries, by 2012.
For FY 2010, Buchanan said, the $4.3 million would be redirected, with $2 million restored in FY 2011. “Be assured that I view GWLA membership as an attainable goal,” he said. The target date is now 2014, as stated in his legislative request in September, which noted, “If state revenues rebound, GWLA membership may be pursued more quickly."
Farrell added that a $50 million addition to the main Coe Library is fully funded by the state and nearly complete. “The Legislature is aware that buildings must be filled with activity and 'content,'” she said.
Coping with cuts
Given that a decline in state revenue is expected, Farrell noted that the university sought to cut in “areas that could be reduced and restored easily within a couple of years,” rather than lose faculty.
The library has lost eight staff members, or ten percent of its roster; none are librarians. Library hours have been cut, with a reduction in student, part-time staff.
This year the library is focused on what Farrell calls, in the library's fall semester newsletter, “our most critical tasks of electronic resources, digitization, and public services. We are pleased that our delivery services from other libraries remain strong through Prospector [a unified catalog of 23 academic, public and special libraries in Colorado and Wyoming] and international interlibrary loan.”
She added, “We are working with our primary book vendor to track titles that we would have received under a normal budget and as one-time funds are made available, we will retrospectively purchase those missing titles.”
A tuition increase next year, along with legislative funding, should help the library recover. While Wyoming has had a strong economy, reduced revenues are anticipated due to the decline in the oil and gas industry.
“At the same time, Wyoming has invested heavily in higher education with the state leading the nation in support of university funding,” Farrell explained. “As a result, most of our tuition has been held constant. So, with support from the state declining due to the budget, then the university is forced to reexamine our tuition rates.”
Contact the author: noder@reedbusiness.com
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