(1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 21:09:37 -0400
From: Brigida Campos (Pasadena PL) < bcampos_at_cityofpasadena.net
<mailto:bcampos_at_cityofpasadena.net>>
Subject: RE: Managing Special Funds
Hello!
At our library, we allocate these funds in the same way we allocate
material funds--per selector or subject-- at the beginning of the year.
You could also withhold some of the money for special program needs
like an author visit that requires book purchases.
At least you wouldn't be rewarding the big spenders of your organization...
You could also have selectors "apply" for special funding each year.
Even a paragraph to request this extra funding would give you a better idea
of how it is being spent.
If there are special aspects of the collection you'd want to encourage--
language or format, you could make this special funding available as a
"match" to what selectors pledge to spend.
I hope this contributes to the conversation,
Brigida
*************************************
* Brigida A. Campos, MLIS *
* Librarian III *
* Pasadena Public Library *
*************************************
(2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 09:10:15 -0400
From: Allison Mays (Millsaps College) maysap_at_millsaps.edu
<mailto:maysap_at_millsaps.edu>
Subject: Re - Managing Special Funds
We have similar funds made up of outright gifts to the library which
roll in all through the year, and also interest from some endowed
accounts. Our "special" funds roll over; we don't have to spend them
by the end of the fiscal year. So because of this, we do spend all of our
budget first and save the special/gift funds for the latter part of the
year. This works really well because it allows me to keep an even flow
of books coming in during the year.
Are you sure your special funds won't roll over? That would really
change things for you.
Allison
Allison P. Mays
Acquisitions Librarian
Millsaps College
1701 N. State Street
Jackson, MS 39210
601-974-1083
maysap_at_millsaps.edu <mailto:maysap_at_millsaps.edu>
(3)-----------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 12:58:38 -0400
From: Patricia Pettijohn (U. of S. Florida) <ppettijohn_at_fmhi.usf.edu
<mailto:ppettijohn_at_fmhi.usf.edu>>
Subject: RE - Managing Special Funds
I really see this as an exciting opportunity, and as a philosophical
question- there are many ways to use such special funds, including:
Use them to purchase resources for new faculty- divvy the funds
among new faculty, give them their own allocation, even if small, it
will be appreciated, and it will be an opportunity to introduce new
aculty to the library.
Use them to purchase resources for new programs/ courses/ minors.
Create an application for general faculty and/or bibliographers /CD
librarians to request one time funding of resources for a particular course
or subject. Require them to make a case for why the funds are needed.
Use them for interdisciplinary fields that have no allocations, such as
women's studies.
Use them for retrospective CD.
There are often a number of one-time purchases that the funds could be
Used for. Make a list of these, ask bibliographers and faculty for a
wish list
of one-time purchases-- you might be surprised at the length of the list,
and then prioritize them, and create some kind of five or ten year plan to
purchase them using these special funds.
I agree that it is a bad idea to wait until the end of the fiscal year, for
workflow and budgetary reasons, but I am not sure that I agree that it is a
bad idea to reward those who expend their funds early. This may indicate
that they are underfunded, or that there are rapid changes, new faculty, or
new theories or schools of thought in their discipline that need coverage.
Some fields, like history, emphasize monographs, and can be expected to
consistently overspend, while others, like physics, can be expected to
underspend. However, if you know that this is just about poor planning then
establishing an application to request one time funding means that the
bibliographers that plan ahead may also plan head and ask for additional
funds, so that the chronic overspenders don't get it all. (The ones that
get me are the chronic under/non/last-minute-spenders.)
Patricia
Patricia Pettijohn
Research Librarian
de la Parte Institute Research Library
University of South Florida
13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612
Phone 813.974.8400
Fax 813.974.7242
ppettijohn_at_fmhi.usf.edu <mailto:ppettijohn_at_fmhi.usf.edu>
www.fmhi.usf.edu/library <http://www.fmhi.usf.edu/library>
(4)-----------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 13:24:51 -0400
From: Antje Mays (Winthrop U.) maysa_at_winthrop.edu
<mailto:maysa_at_winthrop.edu>
Subject: RE - Managing Special Funds
The "best" answer incorporates meeting your needs for
curricular support and working within existing parameters of your
university's foundation.
If there are few to no restrictions on the special funds, it sounds like
you have some policy freedom in deciding how to use them. You
mentioned rushing to spend the special funds by the end of the fiscal
year. Do they not roll over - e.g. memorial funds in a foundation
account that roll over from one fiscal year to the next? Is this
special fund
endowment interest that has to spent within a certain timeframe? And do
you have a general sense every year (in advance) how much money you're
dealing with?
A more strategic use for special funds could be funding long-term
university needs. Do you have gaps in the collection as a result of
major shifts in programs? Any special needs in conjunction with
accreditations of individual programs? Are new programs being added to
the academic offerings? Are there undergraduate programs that are
adding graduate programs?. Also, are there some collections your
library always wanted to have but were too expensive to acquire? Such as
a core collection of instructional videos, films, major sets of
specialized reference tools and/or scholarly compilations that would
enhance the teaching of certain disciplines on your campus? All these
(and similar) scenarios are examples of need for pilot collections that
could be planned in a strategic fashion together with the academic units
That way, you would feel like you're using the money in a meaningful way
rather than simply using it as spillover money for situation
overspending.
Another thing you could do with this money if you have no major start-up
needs is looking at your funds and dividing up the special funds among
scholarly areas that seem to never have enough money to cover all the
needed aspects.
These are some thoughts. Hope this helps
Best,
antje
==============================
Antje Mays
Head, Monograph & A-V Acquisitions
Ida Jane Dacus Library
Winthrop University
Rock Hill, South Carolina 29733, U.S.A.
phone: 001-803-323-2274
fax: 001-803-323-2215
email: maysa_at_winthrop.edu <mailto:maysa_at_winthrop.edu>
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/maysa
(5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 16:59:00 -0400
From: Eleanor Cook (Appalachian State U.) <cookei_at_appstate.edu
<mailto:cookie_at_appstate.edu>>
Subject: RE- Managing Special Funds
ASU has a handful of foundation accounts devoted to our library
collection, albeit more modest than we'd like, where we are allowed
to spend the interest on the principle each year. In the last couple of
years that has been meager, and it varies depending on the economy.
We used to have a similar problem as described where it would get
hurriedly spent at the end of the fiscal year - and no, we were not
allowed to roll it over. So a couple of years ago we all got together
and figured out a system to deal with these funds better. Shortly
after the beginning of the fiscal year (which begins in July), the
collection development and acquisitions coordinators receive a report
of what monies will be available from these foundation accounts. The
CD Team then determines how they wish to spend these funds and
makes sure they are expended by the end of the fall semester. This
way we do not have to scramble at the end of the year and the
money is spent in a thoughtful manner, often in ways suggested by
some of the others who responded to this question.
Eleanor Cook
Serials Coordinator & Professor
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
cookei_at_appstate.edu <mailto:cookei_at_appstate.edu>
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Received on Tue May 18 2004 - 20:05:58 EDT