CDL: Library funding for grad programs (Response 3)

  Response #3 appears below; the original thread of discussion follows it, 
as it has been several days since this first appeared on the list.
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(Response #3): From: "Pakala, Jim" <Jim.Pakala_at_covenantseminary.edu>

REPLIES TO QUESTIONS ON ACRL STATS

Are those numbers of dollars or volumes?  VOLUMES
If volumes, the standard is becoming increasingly unhelpful.  Who is 
keeping track of electronic journals or electronic indexes and abstracting 
tools by volume?  MONOGRAPHS APPARENTLY WERE IN VIEW RATHER THAN SERIALS

We have never found a neat measure, so I am watching this discussion with 
interest.  THANK YOU FOR THIS INTEREST, WHICH MANY OF US SEEM TO SHARE. 
PERHAPS THE REASON THE ACRL STANDARDS I CITED FROM THE APRIL 1995 C&RL NEWS 
APPARENTLY HAVE NOT APPEARED MORE RECENTLY (IN AN UPDATED FORM) RELATES TO 
THE PROBLEMS WITH THESE KINDS OF STANDARDS. NONETHELESS, WE WERE GLAD TO 
FIND THEM IN PREPARING A (SUCCESSFUL) GRANT PROPOSAL FOR A NEW PROGRAM, AND 
THEY OF COURSE RELATED TO THE QUESTION THAT HAD BEEN POSED ON THE LIST. 
WE'VE NEVER FOUND ANY NEAT MEASURES EITHER. THE NEED FOR GUIDANCE (IF NOT 
STANDARDS) RECURS DESPITE THE INCREASING PROBLEMS WITH FINDING MEASURES.

James C. Pakala 
<<mailto:jim.pakala_at_covenantseminary.edu>mailto:jim.pakala_at_covenantseminary.edu> 

Library Director                Phone: 314-434-4044 ext.4101; 
Fax:  314-434-4819
Covenant Theological Seminary
12330 Conway Road; St. Louis, MO 63141-8697
=======================================================================================
   From: Ann Morgan <aemorgan_at_csupomona.edu>

  Is anyone aware of standards, guidelines, formulas, rules-of-thumb, etc. 
that might indicate the relative expense of funding library collections for 
different levels (undergrads, masters, PhD)?

  We have a very small graduate program but it is growing and we're trying 
to find data to help us make a case that the library needs more money to 
adequately support our grad students. I've already checked the ACRL and ARL 
websites and have searched for articles, but haven't found much to help.

  Any suggestions will be appreciated.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Ann Morgan
  Collection Management Coordinator
  University Library
  Cal Poly Pomona
  aemorgan_at_csupomona.edu
  phone: 909-869-4670


====#2====

Subject: Re: CDL: Library funding for grad programs (response 1)
From: Dianne Cook <cookdc_at_post.queensu.ca>

Hmmm....  This response #1 (repeated below) is interesting.  Having lost 
faith in formulae, I  have forgotten the details of this one.

Are those numbers of dollars or volumes?  If volumes, the standard is
becoming increasingly unhelpful.  Who is keeping track of electronic
journals or electronic indexes and abstracting tools by volume?
Just trying to keep track of subscriptions by discipline is
a challenge, when the same title supports several disciplines.
And, of course, there is the old problem of quality versus
quantity.

If these are dollars, are they annual budgets?  Dollars needed
for a PhD program in chemistry, where the per book or per
subscription price is among the highest, would clearly be
different than for Spanish, where prices are more modest.
Also, the degree to which a graduate program is narrowly
or generally focused can impact on its cost.

We have always argued that the cost increase is greater between
MA and PhD level than between undergraduate and MA, since
senior undergraduates tend to use a broad range of resources.

We have never found a neat measure, so I am watching this
discussion with interest.
===========================================
====#1====

 > From:  "Pakala, Jim" <Jim.Pakala_at_covenantseminary.edu>

 > From the C&RL News, April 1995, you may want to consider these
 > standards.
 >
 > ACRL Standards
 > Basic collection        85000
 > Allowance per FTE faculty member        100
 > Allowance per FTE student       15
 > Allowance per undergraduate major or minor field        350
 > Allowance per master's field, when no higher degree is offered in the
 > field   6000
 > Allowance per master's field, when a higher degree is offered in the
 > field   3000
 > Allowance per 6th year specialist degree field  6000
 > Allowance per doctoral field    25000