The University Libraries, which compose many libraries on campus, have issued a list of more than 300 periodical subscriptions that may be cut in an attempt to save the University $200,000.
The cuts will be made in May to allow time for faculty to review and comment on the reductions, which follow a major round of cancellations made last year. Beginning March 1, faculty will be able to examine the proposed cancellations.
The cuts come in the face of a stagnant library budget and increasing costs for periodical subscriptions.
“When serials inflate at a rate of 8 to 10 percent a year, we need to cut back or it would eat our entire budget,” Associate University Librarian for Collections and Access Mark Watson said. “It’s kind of a vicious cycle.”
The candidate list for cancellations includes 318 titles, which range from popular publications such as Rolling Stone, Playboy and U.S. News & World Report, to scholarly journals like the Annals of Human Genetics.
Watson said that determining the list of proposed cuts was a collaborative effort.
“It’s the result of a partnership between the library and teaching faculty,” Watson said. “We give them a target amount to cut. Then they discuss things and get a list back to the library.”
Watson said that the increasing problem of subscription costs is not unique to the University.
“Unfortunately, serials cancellations are becoming a way of life for not just our library, but other libraries as well,” he said.
Faculty members said the cuts raise questions about how their research will be affected.
“The library is the heart of the University and journal subscriptions are a critical component of the research enterprise,” psychology Professor Robert Mauro said. “If it’s difficult for us to access the knowledge in the field, it makes it difficult for us to do our research.”
Mauro said the library’s holdings have been drastically reduced since he last worked on the library’s journal subscriptions about a decade ago.
“We’ve lost enormous numbers of journals,” he said. “We’re down to the bare bones.”
Mauro suggested that the University needs to prioritize funding for the library, especially journal subscriptions, even if it means accepting cuts in other areas.
A University librarian said that they are doing the best they can given the circumstances.
“The UO Libraries recognize that maintaining access to research materials, regardless of format, is a top priority of our faculty,” Collection Development and Acquisitions Head Faye Chadwell said. “We remain committed to supporting (faculty) scholarship and teaching despite the challenges we face by way of severe fiscal constraints, continuous technological innovations and rapid changes in scholarly publishing.”
The library cut $400,000 in subscriptions during the last fiscal year and is continuing the serials reductions this year.
Some departments will face no cuts in their desired titles, while others will be cut by up to 20 percent. A final list of proposed cuts will be posted in mid-April.
Faculty and students interested in reviewing and commenting on the proposed list of titles to be cut can do so at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/colldev/review04/.