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Academic Librarian: Singing in the Rain, Part 1
Holy Grail: A difficult or near-impossible goal that would prove to be a major benefit [...] ([12] Wiktionary, 2009).
Background
In 2008, a white paper produced by Elsevier reported results of a study into return on investment (RoI) undertaken at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. The paper, "University investment in the library: what's the return? A case study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)" ([9] Luther, 2008), developed a methodology for measuring the RoI in the UIUC Library based on grant success at the University and the Library's contribution to that success. Subsequent to the publication of that report, a second study, currently unpublished and still in progress and referred to in this paper as "The international study (phase II)", was commissioned to test the methodology across a range of institutions from across the globe. In 2009, eight institutions agreed to participate in this study, with the author's institution being one of these eight. While providing only some preliminary results, this paper intends to reflect more on the process and the inherent difficulties involved in undertaking such a study.
Tough times, tough measures
Frankly, funding needs to flow into other aspects of the academic program ([8] Kolowich, 2009: citing Daniel Greenstein, Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Programs at the University of California System).
Current budget predictions for libraries do not present a positive picture. While the year 2009 saw the biggest global recession since the 1930s, the impact of this recession on libraries is expected to be less than one might well imagine. A recent global telephone survey at 495 libraries has produced a result that indicates that materials budgets are predicted to drop by 1.2 per cent ([3] GfK NOP Market Research, 2009, p. 2) and overall library budgets set to decrease by 0.9 per cent ([3] GfK NOP Market Research, 2009, p. 3).
Notwithstanding the seemingly small decline, the effect of such a reduction is of course greater than the 1.2 per cent might suggest, yet what measures will librarians adopt in order to alleviate the effect of this reduction? In the same telephone survey, librarians identified ways in which they would deal with the recession. Three broad categories were identified,...
