Describes a line item budgeting system for libraries which relates costs to services and priorities, thereby facilitating direct comparisons among institutions. Also outlined are the potential benefits of such a system, including increased accountability, better definition of programs, and more information about expenditure per program for…

Since the ACRL "Standards for College Libraries are at best a questionable guide in budget preparation, the writers attempted to arrive at a more objective formula for a basic budget for current acquisitions. A minimum figure for books is proposed, based on an examination of reviews in seventy-one professional journals. (Editor/JB)

This paper examines expenditure patterns at higher education institutions in recent years, in light of the spiraling cost of higher education. It utilizes data from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), begun in 1986, and the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), which goes back…

Comparative data are given on prices of periodicals within subject authority groups. Price comparisons for foreign and domestic periodicals and average prices paid by different types of libraries are also given. (PF)

Describes several strategies for obtaining funding for library automation, including convincing management of the importance of automating; buying computer parts individually; upgrading gradually; subscribing to a CD-ROM service that includes equipment; identifying equipment by function (e.g., database search units); trading off less important…

This paper provides background information for SUNY librarians, in particular those in the four-year colleges, concerning the budget preparation-implementation process. Included is a step-by-step summary of that process, in the form of timetables illustrating the interrelationships between the executive and legislative units of state government,…

A simple algebraic method of compensating for inflation while allocating the book budget by funds is presented. The results of attempts to generate library-resource unit cost figures based on internal measurement of buying patterns are described. (Author)

Inflation is currently affecting library book budgets, particularly the acquisition of serials. This model would balance the purchase of serials against the purchase of monographs by individual funding units within the academic library. Consideration is given to inflation as a cost factor. The model is applied to a specific example. (Author/LS)

A simple and cheap manual double entry continuous transaction posting system with running balances is developed for bookkeeping by small libraries. A very small library may operate without any system of fiscal control but when a library's budget approaches three figures, some kind of bookkeeping must be introduced. To maintain control over his…

This article reviews the key features of zero base budgeting as a budgeting/planning system, discusses the applications of ZBB reported in the literature, and summarizes its special benefits and problems for libraries. Fifteen references are included. (Author/RAA)

Summarizes the budgeting methodology followed at one Canadian university faced with making budget cuts to achieve a balanced budget. The article focuses on the business library component, providing the major results of the process as well as discussing the problems encountered, the benefits, and the drawbacks. (Author)

Local action, district analysis, and Planning Programming Budgeting Systems (PPBS) are the subjects of this article. (Author)