ciber survey 2009

8/14/2019 CIBER Survey 2009

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Charleston Observatory 2009 Libraries and the economic downturn

THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND LIBRARIES

Survey ndings

CIBERUniversity College London, December 2009

A global survey of the worldslibraries in challenging times

It seems to me that libraries will become more important during these

days of cutbacks and efficiency/ effectiveness measures, not less so

[Small high school library, USA].


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This survey, of 835 libraries worldwide,confirms what many had expected, thatthe short-term outlook for libraries in allsectors is a challenging one, given theslow down in the economy in manyparts of the world. It is clear that mostlibraries are already feeling the pinch,with budget settlements for the currentfinancial year that are either stand still(i.e. no increase in absolute terms) oractually smaller than last year. Fortunesare however mixed, and some librariesare faring much better than the doomand gloom merchants would have usthink. But the reality for the vastmajority looking forward into the nexttwo financial years is that recessionarypressures really are going to make animpact.

To put some figures on these barebones: 37.4% of institutions expect tocut spending on information resourcesover the next two years, 28.3% expectto cut staffing budgets and 18.1% theirspending on services and infrastructure.These figures are based on absolutefigures and do not account for costinflation: publisher costs, labour costsor general inflation. We are thereforetalking about some fairly deep andpainful cuts, not just a continuation ofthe attritional gains in library efficiencythat have been driven for years bybelow inflation budget rises.

Our survey suggests that academiclibraries will be the hardest hit by thesebudgetary pressures, with 34.3% ofthem expecting to receive a smallerbudget in two years time than they do

currently. For a small minority, 6.9%,the pain will be very severe, since theirbudgets will be more than 10% smallerthan they are this year.

The outlook is not much rosier outsideacademia: 29.9% of public sector andgovernment libraries and 23.5% oflibraries in the corporate (for profit andnot for profit) sectors are alsoanticipating smaller total library budgets

than they enjoy today.

The sector as a whole is having to lookmore deeply: efficiency saving are

probably no longer enough and someserious thinking about the future shapeof services and provision is needed.

Much of the shortfall will be absorbedthrough reduced spending oninformation content, with 69.1% ofrespondents in all sectors and territoriesexpecting to spend the same or lessthan they do today in absolute terms.Since `publisher inflation has

historically been running at a higherlevel than general retail inflation, thissuggests some big changes.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1


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Staffing budgets also look vulnerable,ifless acutely so than resources budgets.Most institutions (71.7%) are notplanning to cut staffing levels which willbe welcome news for those in orplanning to join the library profession.Some jobs will go, however, especiallyin the academic sector which is theleast optimistic about the impact offinancial stringencies generally. Where

jobs disappear, this is likely to be acontinuation of a long running trend, butperhaps on an accelerated scale, offreezing recruitment and failing toreplace staff who leave.

Most institutions seem to be looking tocut their resource budgets (hard) and torely on natural wastage to buffer thefinancial storm. Relatively few (only18.1%) say that they are actively

planning to cut library services orinfrastructure over the next two years.Where this is inevitable, the maincasualties are likely to be libraryopening hours and levels of enquirydesk service: dimming the lights ratherthan turning them off altogether.Building projects and IT projects, whichare largely financed differently, appearto be relatively safe.

Looking in more detail at plans foracquiring publisher content, we find thatprint (textbooks, monographs and

journals) is the main casualty and thatthe shift to e-only provision is likely toaccelerate. Already, our survey showsthat a majority, 57.2%, of libraryspending goes on electronic formatsand this proportion is bound to riserapidly, since library managers tell us

that they are much more likely to switchto e-only journals and e-books(especially) rather than persevere withprint. This has profound implications.

This report has more than enough in itto be a very depressing read. Whatcomes through, however, both in thekey findings and in the many unsolicitedcomments from librarians is notdepression or even resignation, but a

much more positive and realisticassessment. Library managers see thecurrent difficulties as being an

opportunity to rethink what `librarymeans in the twenty first century. It isclear that we have to go beyondmeasuring activity (throughbenchmarking and performanceindicators) to thinking more about thepositive impacts of formal informationprovision on student learning, researchperformance and other key aspects oforganisational missions.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2


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BACKGROUNDThe idea for this survey was firsthatched at the 2008 Charleston LibraryConference, when the concept of theCharleston Observatory was first putforward. The Observatory is a researchadjunct for the Conference and themedium by which some of the greatideas generated there can be turnedinto robust larger scale researchprojects.

The Observatory provides continuityand build and a place where informationexperiments can be undertaken Itoffers a platform upon which evidencecan be collected in a robust andvalidated manner, and where diverse

information communities can cometogether and share their data for thebenefit of all.

The aims of this report are

a) to examine the changes that librariesare making in the context of theeconomic downturn: where budgetsand resources are being focused and

why;b) to determine what practical and

positive things are being done; and toassist the community as a whole byincreasing co-operation andtransparency, sharing best(innovative) practice, and identifyingpriorities.

In line with that spirit of co-operation, thesurvey questions were chosen by thecommunity itself, by a panel of nearly

200 librarians.

This report, the first fruit of theCharleston Observatory, is co-sponsored by Baker & Taylors YBPLibrary Services and digital providerebrary. We are also very grateful tothe organisers of the Charleston

Conference and to the Society ofCollege, National and UniversityLibraries (SCONUL) for their invaluablehelp and advice.

We must also thank the many hundredsof senior library managers who gave sowillingly of their time to make the surveya success.

Professor David NicholasDr Ian Rowlands CIBER, University College London


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Survey demographics 1Responses by geographic region

A global survey: 835 libraries in 61countries participated.

Notes

The majority of respondents in thissurvey were from the USA (62.3%)followed by the UK (12.7%), thenext largest country representation.

Europe as a whole and the rest ofthe world are under-represented,partly as the result of the surveybeing conducted in English only.However, analysis of the responsesacross many of the variables showstriking consistency, regardless ofgeographic region. Where thereare striking geographicaldifferences, they are highlighted inthis report.


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Survey demographics 2Responses by sector

Libraries in all economic sectorsparticipated in this survey.

Notes

The survey includes responsesfrom universities (publicly andprivately funded), further educationand community colleges, high

schools and secondary schools,national libraries, governmentagencies, public libraries, hospitalsand corporations (for profit and notfor profit).

Universities, an important focus ofthe survey, make up almost two-thirds (63.6%) of the sample.


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Survey demographics 3Responses by library size (number of users)

The libraries surveyed here aremainly large and medium scale,servicing millions of users.

Notes

Institutions were asked to placethemselves in ten size bandsaccording to the number ofregistered library users they

service. For this graphic, we define `small libraries as those with up to4,999, `medium libraries with up to39,999, and `large libraries withmore than 40,000 users.

Where major differences relate tosize of library, they are highlightedin this report.


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This years library budgetCurrent total library budget compared with last year: column percentages

Most libraries are feeling the pinchin this financial year, with either astandstill budget or real cut backs.

Notes

Institutions were asked to comparetheir total library budget (includingstaffing, resources and operationalcosts) for the current financial year

and the previous year. Since thiswas a global survey and there areso many potential measures of

`inflation, respondents were askedto compare absolute figures.

The picture that emerges is one ofmixed fortunes, with a minorityexperiencing a budget uplift,presumably just to hedge inflationin many cases. For mostinstitutions, libraries either had astand still budget (no allowance forinflation) or cuts, and in around aquarter of cases these were severe,10 per cent or more down.

Academia is the worst hit.


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Next years library budgetOutlook for total library budget in the next financial year, ignoring inflation: column percentages

Further belt tightening is inevitableas we go into the next financial

year for a very large majority.

Notes

Similarly mixed fortunes appear tobe the case for the comingfinancial year, with a majority ofinstitutions facing another stand

still budget or further cuts. Again, academic libraries are thehardest hit, although recessionarypressures are being felt in allsectors.

The big question, is the extent towhich institutions can absorb thesepressures through efficiencysavings, or whether real impacts onservices and resource provision arelikely. That is a key question that

this survey tries to grapple with.


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Carrying forward a surplus or deficit?Number of libraries

A small proportion of libraries arecarrying forward a significantdeficit into the next financial year.

Notes

Of the relatively small proportion oflibraries that expect to carryforward a surplus or a deficit intothe next financial year (just 13.0%

of those who were able to say atthe time of the survey), there aresome worrying signs. Almost halfof these are carrying a deficit andfor a majority, that deficit isequivalent to 15% or more of theircurrent budget.

It is difficult to make value judgments here since we have nocomparative data from earlier yearsand there will be very particularindividual circumstances that werenot captured in this survey. Moreresearch is definitely needed here,as this could become a seriousissue.


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Looking further forwardOutlook for total library budget in two years time compared with today, ignoring inflation: column percentages

The short term outlook for asizeable minority of libraries islikely to go beyond efficiency savings into real cuts.

Notes

Looking beyond the next financialyear, institutions are a little moreoptimistic about the future,although much depends of course

on the direction that inflation(especially `publisher inflation)takes over that period. Academiclibraries, especially in the UK, arethe most pessimistic about theshort term outlook. They expect tobe in a significantly worse positionin two years time than they aretoday. For a small minority oflibraries in all sectors whoanticipate budgets that are 10 percent or more small than today,before inflation, it looks as thoughsome serious thinking about thefuture shape of services andprovision will be needed.


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Changes in patterns of library spendingProjected spending on services, infrastructure, staffing and resources over the next two years

Information resources are likely tobe the hardest hit budget line,followed by staffing.

Notes

We asked institutions to bestestimate how their patterns ofspending are likely to change overthe next two years. Their answers

once again reveal a complexpicture, with winners and losers inall four main spending categories.

Much of the financial pressure willbe absorbed through reducedspending on information resources:69.1% of respondents expect tospend the same or less than theydo today (this amounts to a cut asthe figures contain no provision forinflation). Staffing budgets alsolook vulnerable at many (but not all)institutions. Relatively speaking,library services and infrastructureare the most protected budgetlines.


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Staffing cutsPercentages of institutions reporting plans to cut staff over the next two years

Most libraries have no plans toreduce staffing, but some jobs willgo, especially in academia.

Notes

This graphic shows responses tothe question: `Are you planning tocut personnel or staff costs overthe next two years?.

For a large majority of institutions(71.7%) in all sectors, there are noplans yet to cut staffing levels,which is very good news for manyhard working librarians.

The outlook for jobs is best in smalllibraries, libraries in the corporatesector and, more generally, forlibraries in North America.

As the graphic shows, the main

threat to jobs is in the academicsector, especially in the largerEuropean (especially UK)institutions.


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Staffing cuts in detailHow institutions plan to manage staff cuts over the next two years

Where jobs need to go, employersprefer to do this by freezing postsor not filling vacancies.

Notes

A minority of institutions (28.3%)that say they are looking to reducestaffing over the next two years,the graphic shows the most likely

mechanisms for achieving this.The most preferred options are afreeze on recruitment and / or notfilling vacant posts, rather thanmore direct measures such asforced redundancy, regrading orrestructuring posts.

There are many issues here,including human resources policiesand national legislation, so thesurvey can only offer a very general

picture and, we should stressagain, a large majority of employersare not seeking to reduce staffinglevels.


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Services and infrastructure cutsPercentages of institutions reporting plans to cut library services or infrastructure over the next two years

Most libraries are not consideringcuts: those that are are mainly large and academic libraries.

Notes

For a large majority of institutionsin all sectors (81.9%), there are noplans to cut library services orinfrastructure over the next twoyears.

However, of those that do, thereare (significantly) more in theacademic sector and fewer in thecorporate sectors, as can be seenopposite. As a general pattern,large libraries (26.7%) are verymuch more likely to be consideringcuts in services and infrastructurethan small libraries (5.9%),presumably because they havemore flexibility in these matters.

There is very little geographicvariation in these responses: cutsseem to be mainly a function ofsize and sector.


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Services and infrastructure cuts in detailHow institutions plan to manage service and infrastructure cuts over the next two years

The most vulnerable services forcutbacks are library opening hoursand enquiry desk services.

Notes

In those cases (18.1%) where cutsare planned, the most vulnerableservices are library opening hours(by some considerable distance),followed by reduced enquiry desksupport.

There is little geographic variationin the nature of the responses tothis question, although reducedopening hours are beingconsidered as a `very likely optionby 41.7% of North Americanlibraries against a world average of37.5% (these percentages relateonly to that minority of libraries thatare actually planning service or

infrastructure cuts). IT and buildingprojects seem to be the leastvulnerable areas for cuts.


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Information resources budgetsCurrent balance of expenditure on information resources

Information content in electronicformats consumed 57.2% of library resource budgets this year.

Notes

This graphic shows how, onaverage, academic, public sectorand corporate libraries apportionedtheir spending on informationresources in the current financialyear.

There are clear sectoraldifferences, as would be expected,with journals (in all formats, print,electronic and both) occupying acentral position overall. E-bookscurrently account for a smallproportion of total spend, but thisfigure is rising fast from a late start.

With 36.8% of the sample

spending more than one million USdollars on information content, and6.8% spending more than eight,this is a huge expenditure area.


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Information resources cutsPercentages of institutions reporting plans to cut information resources over the next two years

Infomation resource budgets areunder severe stress, especially inlarger and academic libraries.

Notes

By comparison with the equivalentfindings for staffing and services,more institutions (37.4%) areactively planning to reduce theirspending on information resourcesover the next two years.

In the case of large libraries (withmore than 40,00 users), a smallmajority (54.8%) are planning tocut information resources,compared with only 26.8% in thecase of small libraries (less than5,000 users).

There are no clear geographicalpatterns here: once again, library

size and sector seem to be thedetermining factors.


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Information resources in detailHow institutions plan to manage information resources cuts over the next two years

Print formats are highly vulnerabletargets for cost savings; theoutlook for e-books is strong.

Notes

This question gauges the pressureon various types of informationresource on a four-point scalewhere 4 is `very likely and 3 islikely. Clearly, all formats areunder pressure, especially printonly journals and print books andmonographs. Print formats appearto be slightly more protected inlarge libraries, although this is notstatistically significant.

Journals in both formats anddatabase subscriptions look fairlyvulnerable, but the real story hereis the position of e-books whichare relatively sheltered from the

coming storm, especially incorporate ( x =1.9) and public sectorlibraries ( x =2.0).


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The cuts in summary Percentage of institutions indicating planned cuts, by budget line and sector

A significant minority of libraries,especially in the academic sector,face two very tough years.

Notes

This table shows the scale of thecuts that libraries are expectingover the next two years.

Resources budgets are likely to bevery hard hit, followed by staffing.

The outlook looks tough for asignificant minority of libraries,especially in the academic sector.


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TRADE-OFF ANA LYSISSo far in this report, the respondentshave been asked to consider each issuein turn, independently of otherquestions in the survey. In this nextsection, we look at how much weight

librarians attach to some big strategicissues based on a trade-off analysis.

When consumers make a purchasingdecision, for example when buying anew car, they have to weigh up a lot ofdifferent issues in their mind. Somefeatures of a car, like engine size, brandor price, will weigh very heavily for mostpeople. Other factors, like an in-carDVD or satnav system may be fairlyimportant or fairly marginal, dependingupon the individuals priorities. Otherfactors, like the colour of the upholsterymay scarcely register at all with some

people (but not all). These preferencesthat underlie a purchasing decision canbe modeled. On a scale of 100, it isquite probable that most consumerswould rate engine size very high, andgive upholstery colour a very low

weighting.Trade-off analysis is a method forattaching a numerical preference scoreto the different attributes of a decisionprocess in complex situations like this.It was achieved in the survey by askingpeople to choose their most favouredand least favoured solution in a givensituation (Max-Diff analysis), thuseffectively ranking the components inpreference order. Preference weightscan be extracted from these rankingsmathematically.

The graphics that follow show thepreferences of senior librarians whenweighing up the options. The numbersare abstractions without associatedunits. They add up to 100 for the sakeof convenience. They are not

percentages of individuals that `votedfor a single solution. They offer aninsight into a decision making processby a large group of survey respondentsand show the relative weighting thatthey put on the key issues.


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Making cutbacks Trade-off analysis: preference scores

Backs to the wall, librarians key instinct is to cut resources, evenservices, to protect staffing.

Notes

Our survey respondents wereasked the question: Which ofthese three options is likely to bethe most effective, and which theleast effective, to help you inmanaging your budgets in thecurrent economic climate?

This is not an easy question toanswer, since everyone realisesthat cutting back on staffing orresources is likely to have a bigimpact on services. Similarly, bycutting in one area, pressure isrelieved in others.

The combined view of the survey

population is that, on balance,cutting resources is almost twiceas likely to be effective than cuttingstaff.


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Greater library co-operation Trade-off analysis: preference scores

For academic libraries in particular,greater co-operation has strongpotential for resource savings.

Notes

Greater co-operation betweenlibraries is one of many potentialstrategies for helping to identifyand deliver savings.

Librarians clearly associate libraryco-operation with resourcesavings, through the scope thatoffers for sharing scarceinformation resources. There islittle identification with co-operation as way of saving onstaffing or operational expenses.

This idea (resource savings) carriesparticular weight in North Americathan in the rest of the world, and in

the academic library sector.


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Sources of additional funding Trade-off analysis: preference scores

Librarians do not perceive thatuser charging is an effectivemechanism to balance the books.

Notes

Librarians have limited time fordevelopmental work, so thequestion of which levers to press inan attempt to bring more moneyinto the library is a difficult one.The perception of the survey panelis that user charges offer only avery small part of the way forwardand that energy is better expendedelsewhere.

The instinct of librarians in North America is to look externally fornew sources of funding. Librariansin the rest of the world, especiallythe UK, and those in small librariesacross the world are much more

likely to believe that lobbying for agreater share of their institutionstotal budget is likely to be moreeffective.


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Digital purchasing options Trade-off analysis: preference scores

Librarians preferences for onedigital purchasing model overanother are very complex.

Notes

Vendors are experimenting withdifferent business models forelectronic content, sometimes to abewildering extent.

The data here strongly suggeststhat there is no `one size fits allsolution to be had. Indeed, acomplex ecology of businessmodels is likely to emerge. Forexample, although the survey panelas a whole attaches the greatestpreference to subscribing to digitalcollections and least to automatedapproval plans, this pattern isreversed in the case of smalllibraries. Patron-driven access is

favoured among public sector andcorporate librarians, who dislikedigital subscriptions. This is highlyvolatile territory!


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Doing things differently Trade-off analysis: preference scores

Librarians reveal a strongpreference for fast forwarding theirusers into the digital library.

Notes

This report has highlighted some ofthe financial challenges confrontinglibraries in the downturn andidentified some of the key pressurepoints. But the survey containsmany positive messages as well,not least a real appetite for change.

The transition to an increasinglydigital library experience issomething that many see as aneffective response to financialchallenges: especially in academiclibraries (much less so in the publicand government sector). Freeelectronic content is attractive,especially in regions outside of

North America and the UK. There islittle interest or appetite inoutsourcing in any sector orgeographical territory.


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Smarter management Trade-off analysis: preference scores

Library managers recognise a needto go beyond measuring activity todemonstrating value.

Notes

The budgetary strictures facingmany libraries are undoubtedlysevere, but they can be managedand contained. In this question, weexplore some of the directions that

`smarter managers might go in.

Despite the fact that performanceindicators and benchmarks arewidely used and in a relativelyadvanced state of development,they do not score highly (too muchdata and not enough meaning?),especially among North Americans.

The senior librarians whoresponded to this survey recognise

a new reality: the need to measurevalue through better usage andoutcomes data, not just activity.These are very different concepts.


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Balancing the library budget Trade-off analysis: preference scores

Library managers are keen toadopt new forms of working moresuited to the digital age.

Notes

The final page in this section offersa synthesis of previous slides.Faced with a complex andchanging environment, what dolibrary managers see as the bestway forward? Interestingly, themost effective strategy is perceivedto be to make big changes,retooling libraries for the digitalage. Library co-operation is alsoseen as a powerful mechanism forriding out the economic storm.

Cutbacks and economies areinevitable, but the positivemessage of this finding is thatlibrary managers are thinking much

more broadly and constructively.Making cutbacks is just one smallpart of that armoury.


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Views of librarians

Once again, library managersemphasise the need to focus onvalue and return on investment.

Notes

At the close of the survey, weasked library managers to react toa series of provocative statements.

Their answers show reasonablelevels of agreement, by geographicregion, size and sector. Again,library managers took theopportunity to accentuate thepositive: the downturn is as muchan opportunity as a threat and islikely to focus minds on value andreturn on investment.

The statement where there was thesharpest division was thatmanagers outside of North

America, especially in the UK, weremuch less optimistic that librarybudgets would recover in themedium term.


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IN THEIR OWN WORDS 1We conclude with some interestingcomments, straight from the librarymanagers themselves.

Barriers in moving to e-only, particularly

VAT on e content, are continuing to have a negative impact on the ability of library managers to deliver cost effective access to digital content and to lever wider efficiencies through a step change

in how we access and use content.Current financial models in relation tothe acquisition of journal content areunsustainable and must be revised inthe light of emerging open access

models. Higher education budget managers at institutional level will not continue to fund year on year over

inflation increases to journal and database subscriptions indefinitely and

when they finally pull the plug we will be in real trouble [Large public university library, UK].

It seems to me that libraries will become more important during these days of cutbacks and efficiency/effectiveness

measures, not less so [Small high school library, USA].

Value to society, a school or acommunity is not always measurable indollars. Often things are valuable

because they enhance life and provide a place where information is not just shovelled at individuals but they are led to discover for themselves. Libraries

and librarians enrich our society [Small university library, USA].

Like businesses, the libraries which have a good handle on why they exist and core values are the ones most likely toemerge in a very strong position [Small for profit corporate library, USA].

The government here has to input money in order to get outcomes. Here, libraries are NOT CONSIDERED cuttingedge and thus much investment are not

placed in them. If they invested seriously, they WOULD get returns.The voices (like mine) who echo the

importance of libraries are ignored and the fight goes on... Our government

need to GET SERIOUS!! [Medium secondary school library, Antigua].

Library and other academic professional organizations must continue to put

pressure on vendors or databasecompanies that charge outrageous fees

and refuse to participate in consortial pricing [Small private university library, USA].

Vendor pricing models are too inflexible, and every vendor should give customerschoices in price models up-front [Small university library, USA].

I think the best thing for librarians to do is be able to adapt to changes. Being able to adjust and think differently will allow libraries to be not necessarily betraditional but `long lasting [Small not for profit corporate library, USA].


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IN THEIR OWN WORDS 2

Libraries are good at collecting statistics, but not at measuringoutcomes. We need methods to showthat the resources we provide make a

difference to our users and that is not easily captured [Medium publicuniversity, USA].

Libraries we all grew up with are no longer sustainable. This trend wastaking place before the current budget crisis. Each year library budgets are flat or are going down. In academic libraries

administrators have made great casesfor more funding, but the bottom line is

giving as much funds for direct instruction and this includes faculty, part-time adjuncts, instructional equipment, etc. In most cases libraries

are excluded from these priorities.Libraries have to raise their own funding

and start using the open source scholarly sites and the open courseware initiatives and work closer with faculty on developing resources that will tiedirectly to classes rather than buildingcollections that may or may not get used [Small public university library,USA].

We need easy access to GOOD statistics on use - we need pricing to be realistic and more 'real' - if I go buy a journal in a store it is one price. I buy one journal title there is normally A

price. I buy a database, a few journals,etc. we barter and bargain... I'd rather there were a 'real' price - affordable for

ALL or expensive for all. The biggest places sometimes pay less than we do

for the same items... Frustrating [Small public university, France].

I think the problems with library budgets are more than just current economics, it's really about fitting in to a new world.I still optimistically think we can adapt

and show our value. So I don't think the impact will be long lasting - although it may be severe [Small public library,USA].

Libraries need to clearly demonstratethat they are effectively supporting theuniversity's priorities. For too long

libraries have followed the desires of thedeans and believe that they should focus on the fringes of information

resources collecting and housing un-

used materials of little value. There istoo much duplication of holding.

Libraries should figure out to collaborate more in areas such as reference, instruction, etc. where it was impossibleto do so in the non-digital world

[Medium public university library,USA].

There is no doubt that the best way for libraries to overcome the current economic crises is by consortiums. If vendors were to take the initiative and

aggressively sell consortiums to libraries, be it academic, special, school, etc. the savings and the benefitswould far outweigh any budget cutsthrough personnel or services or collections [Small secondary school

library, Kuwait].


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IN THEIR OWN WORDS 3

We are in a difficult position. Thethought used to be that we were

building collections, not just for today but also for future use. The budget

squeeze has put a crimp on that notion and becoming `patron use-driven seemsto be the new paradigm. Have our roleschanged? And will we change the way we build our collections? I don't know

[Small public university library, USA].

Co-operation in cataloging and other services that can be shared saves atremendous amount of money. Other co-operative ventures can also provide

more resources at a savings for libraries.For example, shared collections - but

not sharing in the sense that everyone buys the same thing - let each library

buy what they need and then share theentire collection. Vendors and

publishers need to be as flexible and creative in their thinking as libraries are

having to be [Medium public university library, USA].

Give presentations to senior management on how libraries can savetime, money etc. in information retrieval,

licence negotiations etc. Embed library staff in policy units to use their skills to access relevant information, produce policy reports, etc. [Small government library, UK].

Libraries are generally more interested in impact/outcome measurement at the moment than value measurement;

rightly in my view. There is anopportunity here to get back to

promoting the real value of libraries, rather than engaging in a bout of short term hysterical overreaction to budget

pressures. Many libraries in the past have tended to choose the wrongoptions for savings/efficiency gains

because of poor strategic analysis [Medium public university library,UK].

The no growth budget has forced us to move in cheaper directions, goingelectronic where possible, cutting

journal titles that seem less essential now, and working through our consortium for better pricing. Vacant

jobs have gone unfilled so all are doing a little more to make up the difference both in technical services as well as

public services [Medium university library, USA].

We seem to be able to collect a substantial amount of information about how much a book or database is beingused, but I doubt that we will soon (if ever) be able to determine how well a

resource is serving (or is being used by)our users. I am guessing that the effort would encounter too many complexities

[Small not for profit corporate library,USA].

Keeping accurate and relevant statistics has proved successful in arguing for the retention of library services and demonstrating value for money [Small

government library, New Zealand].


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IN THEIR OWN WORDS 4Calculating cost per use of resourcesworks for me - if an online journal costs

$1,500 a year but 300 customers use it,the ROI is great: cost per use is $5. Icancel subscriptions to online journals if

the cost per use goes up over $20. Any means by which the library candemonstrate how library servicesenhance the productivity of others in theorganization is a win [Small hospital

library, USA].

There is very little research that shows library impacts on student successespecially in the post-secondary sector

[Small public university library,Canada].

I think libraries need to become much more focussed on evidence-based

management practices so that they candemonstrate their value and the returnon the institutional investment. I alsothink that libraries need to become

much more aware of the importance of marketing as users increasingly get content without seeing the role of the

library in acquiring that content e.g.when searching the internet. Finally Ithink libraries need to become morecompetitive in a commercial sense sincewe are now in a competitiveenvironment [Small public university

library, UK].

The best outcome is if library users are made fully aware of financial problems and offered alternative possibilities, sothat perceptions of library value are not

debased. We need to ensure that users receive the best service possible in

difficult times and ensure that we havefeedback from them to which we also

respond. One would hope that a tighter economic climate would persuade more

libraries to co-operate to their mutual benefit [Large public university library,UK].

We see maintenance of current personnel and service levels as critical in this second year of extreme budget cuts (45% in resources, 33% in

personnel, from 2007/08's initial budget figures). The single figure budgeted for

purchase of resources--although they are of many kinds and support the entire academic activity of the college--makes it a tempting target for administrators looking for large fund balances to cut or

transfer [Medium community college library, USA].

I believe a clearly defined mission statement and operating procedures will aid in avoiding excess expendituresduring times of economic hardship.

Anything that does not directly relate tothe mission of the library and/or parent

institution is expendable until such atime as additional funding is available

[Medium public university library,USA].

Need to change, be proactive, respond to user needs. The quiet, book lined

library is dead, long live multimedia.Need to have a virtual presence in our users' lives, be accessible on the move,

in a pop up window whilst they chat onMSN, enquiries by text. This means staff

must be mobile app savvy and flexible

[Small further education college library, UK].


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IN THEIR OWN WORDS 5The environment in which librariesoperate in Nigeria is depressing in that funding meant for information resources

has to be reduced in order to accommodate the generation of

electrical power; a resource which istaken for granted in other nations. To make for this gap, there is the need for libraries to bond together and share resources in the areas of personnel, joint acquisition, ICT infrastructure, etc. [Medium public university library, Nigeria].

Think we still have some way to go in proving the difference library resourcescan make to student learning. If

students and academics value us and what we deliver they will make the casefor us if we come under threat. Need

more research into how our input gives students a better quality of learningexperience and enables higher grades.Perhaps there should be more

investigation into how academics expect students to use reading lists across thedifferent disciplines and how much that engagement with research is reflected in

assessment marks [Medium publicuniversity library, UK] .

RESEARCH DESIGNThis survey had input from nearly 200librarians from around the global, allkeen to share knowledge andexperience of what the currenteconomic outlook means for them andtheir users. CIBER designed thequestionnaire on the basis of thisfeedback and distributed emailinvitations to just over 10,000

individuals, asking them to co-operatewith their colleagues so that only oneresponse per institution was returned.Three pilot rounds were completedbefore the survey went live, usingSurveyMonkey Professional, in October2009. We are grateful to ebrary, YBPLibrary Services, the CharlestonConference and to Sconul for makingtheir mailing lists and expertiseavailable.

The institutional, rather than individual,nature of the responses to this surveymake it very difficult to quantifyresponse rates, but CIBERs estimationis that the effective response rate forthis survey is in line with industry normsfor online interviews, probably in the

range 6-8 per cent of those institutions surveyed.


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THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND LIBRARIES

Survey ndings

ciber survey 2009

Documents