Discusses the increased costs of library materials, the need for a new budgeting approach, and the impact of technology. The development of a library materials index that was developed at Ohio State University to provide a consistent source for measuring library materials expenditures against the marketplace is described. (Contains 14 references.)…

Discussion of collection assessment focuses on academic library experiences. Topics addressed include library accountability; funding shortages; barriers to collection assessment; strategies to aid in assessment, including adequate training and performance incentives; and implications of collection assessment for library budgets, including…

Examines the rising costs of library materials and the impact on access to information. Four types of cooperative library programs are described: (1) programs to extend scholarly resources; (2) programs to reduce materials costs by dividing collecting responsibility; (3) programs to improve clients' access to information; and (4) programs to…

Discusses acquisitions budgets, price increases, and their effect on academic library collections, based on the broader economic situation. Topics addressed include changes in the publishing industry; the increasing numbers of publications; the role of technology; ineffective responses of libraries; and the need for libraries to change their…

Discussion of the decline in the purchasing power of academic libraries' acquisitions budgets focuses on why and how the acquisitions budget should be integrated into the broader library and institutional budgeting and planning process to help manage the costs of scholarly communication. Highlights include collection development and remodeling the…

Describes strategies that academic libraries can use to stretch the collection budget in the face of increasing costs. Collection management measures are discussed, including cancellations, coordinated buying, and cooperative databases; budgetary strategies are described; and political factors are considered, including faculty support,…

Discusses libraries' participation in consortia, cooperatives, or networks to help cope with the financial pressures created by more available materials and less money. Reasons for participating are examined, factors to determine the value of belonging are suggested, cost factors are considered, and cooperative collection development is described.…

Discusses serials cancellations; reviews library collection assessment policies and reasons for assessment studies; describes a survey of academic health sciences libraries that examined serials cancellation projects, including the decision-making process, regional or national cooperation, and the methodology used; and explains a generic serials…

This theme issue contains eight papers that were originally presented at a conference sponsored by the University of Oklahoma Libraries on library acquisitions. Highlights include budgeting problems in academic libraries; maintaining research library collections; monograph collections in scientific libraries; vendors' perspectives; electronic…

Describes a survey of academic libraries that explored serials collection assessment. Highlights include serials budget allocations; serials cancellation projects; changes in ratio of allocation by subject area; use of computers for serials collection assessment; use of vendors, especially for statistics; and future plans for collection…

Describes problems facing academic libraries today concerning the amount of literature and information available, costs, copyright issues affecting ownership, and technological changes. Strategies for dealing with diminishing funds and increasing information resources are suggested, and activities at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)…

Describes measures of cost effectiveness that are useful for academic library collections, based on experiences at the Louisiana State University libraries. Highlights include circulation analysis of newly cataloged books; current periodical use compared to cost; faculty ranking of journals; and circulation patterns (i.e., use versus cost and…

Discusses library collection evaluation and its relationship to the acquisitions budget. Topics addressed include the publishing industry; library services that are more user centered; acquisition of versus access to sources of information and knowledge; the concept of value; library accountability; objectives and setting priorities; and levels of…

Discusses changes that are occurring in academic libraries as they try to keep up with the growth in sources of information. Topics discussed include acquisitions; interlibrary loan; new technologies in libraries; library expenditures; library staff; collection development; and the need to redefine the library's role to that of an information…

Discusses changes in academic library collection development due to societal attitudes toward higher education; budget and service pressures; copyright, licensing, and intellectual property issues; and preservation considerations. Recommends cooperative collection management, made more possible through network technology, as a means to effectively…