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…

Many California school districts are reassuming responsibility for providing special education programs for severely disabled children to avoid large excess cost charge-backs to intermediate service providers. State regulations encourage this practice. Rather than realizing a fiscal gain, such districts increase their per pupil costs and those of…

Discusses the economics and value of information and describes a study that compared an objective measure, the estimated direct costs to a library to purchase materials or provide services used by specific users, with a subjective measure, exchange values those users would pay for the information. (LRW)

This study examined trends in dispersion of total research and development expenditures for the top 200 academic institutions between fiscal year (FY) 1979-80 and FY 1989-90. Although the most prestigious universities registered a significant overall decrease, dispersion did not adversely affect ratings of institutional quality. Medical and…

Data on research library (university and nonuniversity) holdings in the United States and Canada for 1991-92 are presented in tabular form and include numbers of volumes in the library, volumes added, current serials, and permanent staff, and total expenditures in U.S. dollars. University libraries are ranked. Overall distribution of operating…

Many colleges and universities set spending from endowment at a fixed fraction of its market value. Analysis of this policy suggests that the maximum permissible spending fraction is related to the institution's target growth rate and the endowment's real return. Mathematical formulas and charts specifying this relationship are offered. (MSE)

Describes a study that examined the effects of austerity on collection development at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Nigeria) library since its inception in 1977 through 1990. The findings reported indicate that decreased allocations have led to declining book purchases and journal subscriptions and large debts to foreign book dealers. (23…

Colleges and universities that treat all partial per diems or expense reimbursements of staff as per se taxable income fail to apply tax laws and policies appropriately. Business officers must determine whether the meals reimbursed are business related, above and beyond the personal benefits, to warrant noncompensation treatment. (MSE)

As a business, educating African Americans is a large enterprise, with total annual expenditures approaching $15 billion. Contrary to stereotypes, it cannot be regarded as a footnote to American higher education. Tuition expenditures account for nearly 8% of the total money income of blacks in the United States. (SLD)

Debunks eight misconceptions concerning U.S.'s alleged "lavish" spending on education in comparison to other countries. The share-of-national-income approach and measures of per pupil spending are frequently misinterpreted and often exclude education need and education resource cost. Nations with an expensive, highly productive labor…

Summarizes Kentucky's progress toward educational equity, concentrating on (1) the Kentucky Supreme Court's 1989 decision declaring the state's educational finance system unconstitutional and (2) a description and preliminary evaluation of the state's new four-part funding formula featuring pupil weighted averages for expenditure by wealth…

This study reports on nonmedical expenditures and opportunity costs in maintaining a child or young adult with serious developmental disabilities in the home or residential care and discusses policy implications for assisting families. The paper makes proposals concerning the scope of health care, family-centered care, programs for young adults,…

It is argued that the problems facing Chinese higher education are caused by underfunding, high inflation, and low internal efficiency. Possible strategies for addressing the problems are discussed, including improving internal efficiency, developing systems of cost sharing and cost recovery, income generation by individual universities, and…

Discusses the rising costs of library materials from a vendor's perspective. Effects of corporate takeovers of publishers are examined, resource sharing among libraries is discussed, the role of the library as a supplier of information resources and services is considered, and libraries' need for product development and marketing strategies is…