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Author: Steven

Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries » Articles by: Steven

Clarification on library acquisitions budget

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For original posting, please visit: http://www.torontomu.ca/provost/announcements/library-acquisitions-budget.html

On December 13, 2015, CBC posted a story on its website regarding the rising costs of academic journal subscriptions and how these increases impact library acquisitions at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) and Toronto Metropolitan University. Immediately after the CBC story was posted, Ryerson’s Public Affairs requested corrections to be made but not all were fulfilled. The article, which was subsequently retracted by the CBC, referenced a blog post on the Toronto Metropolitan University Library and Archives (RULA) website entitled Library Budgets in the News. The blog post referenced recent MUN library news and how similar budgetary strains could inhibit the Ryerson collections budget. The blog post failed to highlight the investment strategies in place to maintain Ryerson library acquisitions.

Ryerson recognizes the library’s importance to the research and learning of students, faculty, and staff. Over the last three years, the university has allocated over $5 million to the library, beyond its base budget. Ryerson is committed to supporting the library and plans to invest an additional $3.1 million over the next two years. While there are economic pressures, shared by universities across the country, RULA will continue to use an evidence-based approach to make strategic decisions for the university’s collection. In the budget process this year, Ryerson will review and continue to support the library’s acquisition funding needs.

Ryerson has been proactive in protecting the RULA acquisitions budget. Some of the actions include:

  • To reduce the impact of the lower Canadian dollar, Ryerson invested in the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) Foreign Exchange Project, which allows the university to renew Elsevier Science Direct and Sage Premier at the US/CAD exchange rate. To date, the project has generated a total savings of $10,369.13 and Ryerson will continue to participate in this network.
  • From 2014-2015, the library received $941,000 in strategic re-allocations in order to retain important content such as Nature Journals, IEEE, and SciFinder for an additional year. This also helped to compensate for the falling Canadian dollar and bolstered the library’s monograph collection.
  • Guided systematically by its Collections Development policy, RULA identified products through an evidence-based process to ensure the least possible community impact.