SFU Library Materials Budget 2004-2005

Here is the 2004/2005 Library Materials Budget as supported by the Senate Library Committee at its meeting July 19, 2004.

Each year the Library creates a Library Materials Budget that strives to strike a suitable balance between books, serials and periodicals, while accommodating the different materials needs of the various disciplines. It also considers the fluctuating Canadian dollar, inflation and increases in both serial and periodical subscriptions.

We continue to monitor the book purchases by each account and keep a close eye on the journal purchases. We also continue to provide the flexibility of moving discretionary funds to increase serials/periodical purchases, if so desired. To ensure that book purchases are not overlooked by any single fund, we reserve the right to allow up to only 90% of the total fund to cover serial and periodical purchases.

In establishing this year's Library Materials budget, the following principles have been applied:

1. Past experience has shown that scientific, medical and technical serial and periodical subscriptions have greater price increases than other subject areas. As a general rule, Science and Applied Science serial and periodical allocations are set based on a 9% increase over 2003/04 expenditures. All other subscriptions including databases have been increased by 8%. Many of the periodical and serial lines were underspent in 2003/04 due to the rise in the Canadian dollar during the year. This year’s budget plans for a continued strong dollar. In all cases where there are reduced allocations for serials, this reflects currency fluctuation, not a serials cut. The Library’s buying power for serials has been preserved with these allocations.
   
2. Where book funds – approvals, forms, or discretionary – were fully expended in 2003/04, they have been increased by 5%. Where they were not fully expended they have been left at the same value as 2003/04.
   
3. The Library’s bundled packages of online journals are budgeted in General Electronic Serials Packages, this year for a total of $1.65 million. This includes all packages paid from this fund in 2003/04 plus the recently acquired Cambridge University Press package.
   
4. The Library received $275,000 in Indirect Costs of Research funding this year. This has been divided between project lines for Health and the Surrey Library, to be spent on building research collections.

An explanation of the fund codes used in the budget appears below. Not all funds will have all the following codes:

Books – Approvals (fund codes ending in a)
Books - Approvals: purchases received in book form based on subject profiles set up with our major book vendor. Primary subjects are covered by these Approvals profiles. Approximately 65% of all book titles purchased come in on Approval.

Books - Forms (fund codes ending in f)
Books - Forms: purchases from information forms received based on subject profiles set up with our major book vendor. Secondary subjects are covered by forms in the profiles.

Books – Discretionary (fund codes ending in d)
Books- Discretionary: purchases from information provided by faculty and students. Depending on the subject area, mainly secondary subjects are covered by Discretionary purchases.

Periodicals (fund codes ending in p)
Periodicals cover the journals purchased by the Library.

Serials (fund codes ending in s)
Serials cover other regularly purchased items that are bought from year to year. These consist of yearbooks, annuals, handbooks, etc.

Databases (fund codes ending in w)
Databases cover electronic indexes that are purchased each year. Subject based databases are covered in the departmental budgets and more general databases are purchased out of the general funds.