ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries September 1983 / 269 sufficient and become less bashful and more com­ fortable in their attitude tow ard librarians and the library, once it has been overtly dem onstrated th a t the library is actively seeking to help them in their studies. Such a program relieves some recurring problems in public service departm ents, enhances the library’s image on campus, and the staff in­ volved has the satisfaction of introducing a num ber of foreign students to a very American aspect of their education, as well as contributing to their ad­ justm ent in a new and sometimes confusing envi­ ronment. Letters of appreciation from the head of Lock­ wood and the Director of the University Libraries are sent to all the volunteers. ■ ■ Financial Restrictions in Academic Libraries Kay F. Jones Head of Reference D epartm ent Zim m erm an Library University o f New Mexico Spring is budget time in academic libraries. All around us can be heard mutterings about cuts in book budgets, frozen positions, and other financial restrictions imposed on us by the university, the state legislatures, or other budget authorities. It is fair to assume th a t many librarians wonder how widespread the cuts are in other academic institu­ tions. Are we the only ones who have been hurt? A survey was sent to 28 directors of libraries in the western third of the United States and sixteen responses (57%) were returned. Eleven of the re­ sponding libraries were ARL libraries; the other five w ere one of the three largest university li­ braries in their states. The survey was designed to find out how w idespread financial restrictions were in the West, the nature of these restrictions, and w hat creative solutions had been invented. Only three of the respondents reported no financial restrictions at all; thirteen libraries (81 %) had been cut in some way. Seventy-five per cent of the university librarians or their representatives whose libraries have expe­ rienced financial restrictions in the past four years expressed the opinion th a t the cuts in book budget, reductions in staff, and other restrictions imposed were tem porary in nature, although some defined “tem porary” as four to six years or longer! One less optimistic librarian commented th a t unless the fi­ nancial situation improved in his state, libraries would experience long and perm anent financial re­ strictions such as have not been seen in the state for more th an forty years. Ten of the libraries surveyed (62.5%) have had their book budgets cut or have had book funds taken back by the university adm inistration during the fiscal year. Six of the responding libraries expe­ rienced no book budget cuts; three others were cut by less than one per cent. Cuts at the other libraries ranged from 2% to 25% of the total book budget. Four libraries were cut by 2 % to 8 % ‚ making this range the most common. Three libraries were cut by more than 20% . In dollar amounts, the cuts ranged from around $5,000 to $750,000. All of the libraries experiencing financial restric­ tions had some sort of staffing restrictions. The most common form of restriction was frozen posi­ tions or a tem porary prohibition against filling po­ sitions open through attrition. Eight of the libraries responding (half the respondents) had frozen posi­ tions. Some of the affected positions were faculty or professional librarian positions; some were staff. Some libraries had a freeze on both classifications. Four libraries had positions perm anently reduced. Counting these two areas together, the cuts ranged from one position cut or frozen to one library which had experienced more th a n th irty lost positions since 1979/80. Two libraries had one affected posi­ tion; three had two; only two libraries had reduc­ tions of more than ten positions. One library said staff had been affected but did not specify a num ­ ber. For cuts expressed in percentages of the total staff, see Table 1. S everal lib ra rie s e x p e rien ced th e d o u b le w ham m y of cuts in both the book budget and in the staff. Eight libraries, or half of the sample, had fi­ nancial restrictions in both areas. W hat has been the result of these cuts on the aca­ demic libraries surveyed? Many have responded by cutting services in some way. The most common method employed was a reduction of hours of ser­ vice; six libraries, 37.5% of the respondents, used this way to lighten the load on a reduced staff. One library postponed the construction of a new library addition, another postponed the occupation of a new branch, and a third closed two branches and reabsorbed the collections into the main library. Reference services have been reduced, b ib lio ­ graphic instruction has been curtailed or elimi­ nated, and areas such as Special Collections or Au­ d io v isu a l Services h av e b een re d u c e d or elim in ated . O ne lib ra ria n com m ented th a t no growth in grossly underfunded areas could be con­ sidered a cut. T he question was asked of these lib rarian s, “Have you considered or conducted a systemwide review of operations to identify areas in which to economize?” Two libraries include this as p art of TABLE 1 F IN A N C IA L R E S T R IC T IO N S B ook B u d g e t C u ts S ta ff C u ts N u m b e r of N u m b e r of % C u t L ib ra rie s % C u t L ib ra rie s 0 6 <1 3 <1 3 1 -2 3 2 -8 4 3 -4 2 9 -1 9 0 5 -7 2 2 0 -2 5 3 8 1 25 + 0 24 1 their ongoing budgetary procedures; departm ent heads are involved in the process. Only five other libraries responded th at they have instituted spe­ cial reviews as a result of the financial restrictions. Three of these libraries have set up task forces or committees to examine a broad range of services to determine where economies might be instituted, one library is conducting a “manpower evalua­ tion” but did not delineate the methodology, and one other library commented th at the reductions pattern had been achieved by a cost analysis ap­ proach. Changes in the goals and objectives at the uni­ versity level do not often affect the library’s goals and programs, according to respondents. One li­ brarian asked, “How many universities have de­ fined their goals?” Another commented th at the goals of the university were presently under review and th a t the library would react appropriately when the review was completed. Four other li­ braries have responded to changes in curriculum, such as additional emphasis on business or high technology, by adding collection development spe­ cialists in those areas and changing library priori­ ties to support the new programs. Even fewer librarians had creative innovations to share. Two cited automation of services as a help, one mentioned increased income through the photocopying service, two have introduced user fees, and one has sought additional grants. One li­ brarian credits his dedicated staff for their survival and adds th at they have relied on “prayer, profan­ ity and perseverance.” It is clear from even this limited survey th at most academic libraries are experiencing financial re­ strictions. No one can accurately predict how long these restrictions may last, although the sample surveyed reported feelings of optimism th at the limitations were temporary in nature. However, ten of the respondents, 62.5% , said the “tempo­ rary” restrictions would last at least two years. If this is true, it is surprising th at so few of the li­ braries have closely examined their organizations to determine if economies could be instituted to save money. Few creative innovations have been developed to reduce costs in some meaningful way. Hours have been reduced and other services have been cut in order to cope with staffing shortages. W ouldn’t we be doing our academic communities a service if we were to analyze the total picture of library services to determine a balanced and rea­ sonable way to live w ith in our reduced bu d g ­ ets? ■ ■ Reference T ransaction Survey Begins Field-Testing A survey instrument, designed to collect ref­ erence transaction data on computer scannable sheets, was introduced and distributed to inter­ ested libraries at the conclusion of the LAMA Statistics for Reference Services Com m ittee program at ALA Annual Conference in Los An­ geles. This survey, a special project of Marjorie Murfin and Charles Bunge, has been approved for field-testing in academic libraries by LAMA in order to determine if such a survey is feasible and useful. Tentative data may be obtained, by use of this one-day survey, to compare a library’s ref­ erence service with reference services in other libraries of the same size and type in regard to: 1) subject and type of questions and by whom asked; 2) type of personnel responding, type of response, search patterns and problems en­ countered; 3) success of this response in terms of patron and librarian ratings; 4) patron report of amount learned in connection w ith the transac­ tion. Interested academic libraries may obtain a packet of forms and materials free of charge for examination and consideration, without obli­ gation to do the survey. All that is asked is th at packets be returned if not used. Packets may be obtained from: M arjorie M urfin, Reference D epartm ent, Main Library, 1858 Neil Ave. Mall, Columbus, OH 43210. 270 / C &RL News