ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Three years of change in college and university libraries

Prepared by the National Center for Education Statistics

Washington, D.C.

Total operating expenditures of college and university libraries increased by 30.4% between school years 1978-79 and 1981-82, while the inflation rate was 37.3 % for the same period. Expenditure increases for salaries (30.0 %) were lower than the inflation rate, while expenditures for fringe benefits (47.8 %) exceeded the inflation rate. Total receipts from Federal Government grants decreased by 23.2% from 1979.

These are some of the findings of a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey of college and university libraries for the school year ending in 1982.¹ The survey had a 91 % response rate from a universe of 3,326 college and university libraries. Data were imputed for all nonrespondents with the exception of 89 institutions that were not in the 1979 survey. This report presents selected aggregates for the 50 states and District of Columbia and compares them with the last NCES survey of college and university libraries for the school year ending in 1979.

Holdings and acquisitions

Total book volumes increased from 517.2 million in 1978-79 to 567.8 million in 1981-82 (Table 1). Although total book collections increased during this period, acquisitions of book volumes and titles decreased by 9.1% and 11.6%, respectively, when comparing the two survey years (Table 2). This decline in book acquisitions continues the downward trend which began in 1972-73.

Periodical subscriptions, however, increased 3.0 % (Table 2). The popularity of periodicals carried over into microforms, where the number of periodical titles available increased a substantial 58.3 % over 1978-79 (Table 1). Acquisition of periodicals on microforms was up 52.5 % from 1978-79 to 1981-82 (Table 2). Audiovisual materials were being added at a slower rate, down 22.4% from 1978-79 (Table 2).

Expenditures and receipts

Operating expenditures in academic libraries increased by $452.9 million or 30.4% from 1978-79 to 1981-82 (Table 3). During the same 3-year period, the inflation rate, based on the Consumer Price Index, was 37.3%. (The inflation rate is derived from monthly figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.) Thus, expenditures did not increase as fast as inflation.

Table 1—Holdings of library materials, by type in college and university libraries: 50 States and D.C., 1979 and 1982

Holdings, by type	1978-79	1981-82	% change
(In thousands)
Book volumes	517,152	567,826	+ 9.8
Book titles	338,426	369,916	+ 9.3
Government documents (in separate collections)	89,974	106,285	+ 18.1
Microforms—book titles	39,094	46,631	+ 19.3
Microforms—periodical titles	2,493	3,947	+ 58.3
Microforms—other	223,502	307,443	+ 37.6
Audiovisual materials (titles)	20,738	24,762	+ 19.4
All other library materials (titles)	118,952	160,182	+ 34.7

Table 2—Acquisition of library materials, by type in college and university libraries: 50 States and D.C., 1979 and 1*982

Acquisitions, by type	1978-79	1981-82	% change
(In thousands)
Periodical subscriptions	4,749	4,890	+ 3.0
Book volumes	21,460	19,507	-9.1
Book titles	14,405	12,735	-11.6
Government documents (in separate collections)	7,270	6,303	-13.3
Microforms—book titles	3,275	3,054	-6.3
Microforms—periodical titles	282	430	+ 52.5
M icroforms—other	21,609	26,375	+ 22.0
Audiovisual materials	2,089	1,621	-22.4
All other library materials (titles)	5,328	4,690	-11.9

Table 3—Operating expenditures and receipts of college and university libraries, by type: 50 states and D.C., 1979 and 1982

Expenditures and receipts, by type	1978-79	1981-82	% change
(In thousands)
Total library operating expenditures	$1,490,863	$1,943,769	+ 30.4
Salaries and wages1	703,280	914,379	+ 30.0
Fringe benefits	113,310	167,515	+ 47.8
Wages of students2	79,086	100,847	+ 27.5
Books	223,207	255,767	+ 14.6
Periodicals	178,385	258,066	+ 44.7
Microforms	20,029	22,384	+ 11.8
Audiovisual material	16,960	15,661	-7.6
All other library materials	9,174	9,321	+ 1.6
Binding and rebinding	25,176	30,351	+ 20.6
All other library operating expenditures	122,256	169,478	+ 38.6
Total receipts from Federal Government grants	25,186	19,343	-23.2

¹Includes estimated value of contributed services.

²Serving on hourly basis.

From 1978-79 to 1981-82, expenditures for library staff salaries increased 30.0%, but expenditures for fringe benefits increased considerably more—up 47.8% (Table 3). In 1981-82, the total expenditures for staff compensation (sum of salaries, fringe benefits, and wages for student assistants) of $1.2 billion was just about double the amount spent on library material (sum of expenditures for books, periodicals, microforms, audiovisuals, and other library materials). In comparing the two survey years, the 47.8% increase in fringe benefits represents the largest percentage increase of any expenditures item, followed closely by the 44.7% increase of expenditures for periodicals. By comparison, expenditures for books increased by only 14.6%. Indeed, 1982 total expenditures for periodicals exceeded total expenditures for books, $258.1 million and $255.8 million, respectively. Only one expenditure item showed a decrease— expenditures for audiovisual materials was down 7.6%. Total receipts from Federal Government grants showed a 23.2% decrease.

Staff

A total of 58,476 full-time equivalent (FTE) persons served on college and university library staffs in fall 1982, a 1.4% increase over fall 1979. This total represents approximately 155 FTE students per FTE library staff member in 1982, as compared with 147 FTE students per FTE library staff member in 1979.² Females represented approximately 75 % of the college and university library staff in both years. By contast, females represented only 52 % of the college library administrators in 1982. Between 1979 and 1982 the number of female administrators increased by 6.9% while the number of male administrators decreased by 3.0%.

Library usage

Although circulation of library materials was virtually unchanged—up 0.4 %, reference transactions increased substantially, up 64.8 % since 1979. In the spring of 1982, reference transactions exceeded 1.6 million in a typical week. Interlibrary loans rose substantially; total loans to other libraries increased by 34.1% over 1979, and loans from other libraries by 18.0%.

For more information

The data used in this analysis is available from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Inquiries about the data tape should be directed to the Statistical Information Office, National Center for Education Statistics, 400 Maryland Avenue N.W., (Brown Building, Room 606), Washington, DC 20202; (202) 254-6057.

For additional information about this report, contact Robert A. Heintze, Division of Multilevel Education Statistics, (202) 254-7351.

Editor’s Note: This report has been reprinted from the NCES Bulletin for February 1984.

OMS selects ten ACRL members for its Institute on Research Libraries

Twelve library school faculty have been invited to attend an Institute on Research Libraries July 9-27, sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries and operated by ARL’s Office of Management Studies.

The three-week institute is being co-hosted by the University of North Carolina research libraries and the School for Library and Information Science, at Chapel Hill. It will encompass lectures, workshops, small group discussions, and a field experience in a major research library. Participants will be exploring the changes taking place in research libraries, and will be assessing the implications of those changes for library education.

The following ten of those selected are ACRL members: Robert N. Broadus, University of North Carolina School of Library Science; Terry A. Brooks, University of Iowa School of Library Science; Phyllis Dain, Columbia University School of Library Service; John N. DePew, Florida State

University School of Library and Information Studies; D.W. Krummel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science; William E. McGrath, State University of New York at Buffalo School of Information and Library Studies; Barbara B. Moran, University of North Carolina School of Library Science; Robert D. Stueart, Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science; Thomas T. Surprenant, University of Rhode Island Graduate Library School; and Wayne A. Wiegand, University of Kentucky, College of Library and Information Science.

Also selected were Claire England, University of Toronto Faculty of Library and Information Science; and Renee Tjoumas, Catholic University School of Library and Inormation Science.

University administrators and research library directors will be involved in panel discussions during the final week of the event.

Notes

1. A11 library data are reported with reference to academic years 1978-79 and 1981-82, except for library staff and student enrollment data which are reported as of fall 1979 and 1982, and library reference transactions which are reported as of spring 1979 and 1982.
2. Source of enrollment data: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fall Enrollment in Higher Education 1979, and unpublished fall 1982 data.