Is UHM a research institution - message from Karen Peacock

Dear Colleagues,
The Library Faculty Senate is sponsoring a forum to discuss the
library's budget situation and to consider how and whether UHM Library
can continue to function as a research library.

FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF THE LIBRARY
Where? Korean Studies auditorium
When? January 30, 10:30-12:30 (Tuesday)
January 31, 1:00-3:00 (Wednesday)

2006/2007 Budget Cuts
In Fall 2006 the Library's fiscal office projected a $1.5 million shortfallin the Library's budget for 2006/07. The Library
has done the following to address this shortfall:
-delayed filling library staff and faculty positions:$200,000
-cut the budget for binding journal issues: $140,000
-suspended the approval plan (major source of new books):$400,000
-cut librarians'subject book budgets: $260,000
(e.g., funds to buy books for history, geography, area studies)

These savings total $1 million. The Chancellor has approved a
$500,000 supplement that will cover the remainder of the projected
shortfall, which means that we will not cut electronic resources and journal subscriptions at this time.

Impact of the cuts.
Suspension of the approval plan means that from January to June of
2007 we will not receive the 6,000+ monographs from major academic
publishers that normally would be acquired. The "approval plan" is an arrangement with a vendor who selects material for us based upon a profile provided by
the Library, and sends to us at a discounted rate, books in the
humanities, social sciences and science fields.

For at least the first half of 2007, our main campus library will
receive almost no new major press publications. Furthermore, the cuts
in librarians' book funds mean that for many subject areas, few, if any,
new books can be ordered.

More cuts in 2007/08.
Looking further ahead, if our allocation from UH is static, inflation
and other expenses will force the library to make an additional
16-18% reduction in its acquisitions budget. Factoring in all
currently anticipated shortages, this means that we will need to cut
$1,000,000 from our materials (book, journal and electronic resources)
budget in FY 2007/08. Even if we completely cancelled the approval plan for
the entire FY 07/08, we would probably still need to make more cuts.

What do we do?
The once-rhetorical question that we must now address is, how
can we continue to function as a research library? Consider your library
and research needs and those of your students, both undergraduate
and graduate. Join us at the Library Forum, where we will discuss the
budget situation and this critical question.

FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF THE LIBRARY
Where? Korean Studies auditorium
When? January 30, 10:30-12:30 (Tuesday)
January 31, 1:00-3:00 (Wednesday)

We need your kokua. Please speak in support of the Library with your
colleagues. We are very much aware that the University as a whole is
seriously underfunded, and we urge faculty and students to lobby for
increased State funding of UH that will support all programs and provide
for a viable research library at UHM.

Sincerely,
Karen Peacock
Chair, Library Senate