PERCENTAGE BASED ALLOCATION OF AN

ACADEMIC LIBARARY MATERIALS BUDGET

NELINET Annual Collection Services Conference

April 15, 2009

Debbi A. Smithsmith8@adelphi.edu

Collection Development and Management LibrarianAdelphi University, Garden City, NY

Adelphi UniversityAdelphi University

• Private Institution

• Liberal arts and sciences undergraduate

• Professional schools in business, education, nursing, psychological studies and social work

• Four centers– Main Garden City campus plus 3 regional centers

Adelphi UniversityAdelphi University

• Carnegie Doctoral Research Institution– Bal/SGC Undergraduate Instructional Program– Doc/Prof Graduate Instructional Program

• Four Masters/Three Doctoral programs

• FTE: 6,800– 4,500 undergraduates – 2,300 graduates

University LibrariesUniversity Libraries

• 667,000 print volumes

• 805,000 microformats

• 30,000 audiovisual items

• 1,600 print subscriptions

• 30,000 unique full-text online journals

• 167 databases

Adelphi University LibrariesAdelphi University LibrariesMission StatementMission Statement

The Adelphi University Libraries play an integral role in the instructional, research, cultural, and student life programs of the University by providing high quality library and information facilities, resources, technology, and services in consonance with the mission and vision of the University. The Libraries serve all members of the Adelphi community representing diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds as well as a wide range of academic disciplines.

Contributing to the University’s efforts in furthering community relations, the Libraries extend many of their services to high school students and adults in neighboring communities.

The Libraries provide a comfortable, attractive, and safe environment that is conducive to study and to intellectual inquiry. Access is offered to a comprehensive variety of resources and collections that support Adelphi’s curriculum and information needs. We provide an outstanding level of user-centered services through continual assessment of programs, collections, and user satisfaction.

The Libraries support and promote information literacy by teaching members of the Adelphi community to find and evaluate information effectively and to incorporate it ethically in pursuit of their academic, professional, and personal endeavors.

Mission IntentMission IntentDevelop a well balanced collection that

supports the parent University goals, priorities, programs and curricula

• Collect materials at a level that supports the terminal degree offered by each department

BackgroundBackground

• Before I was hired in March, 2004:– No Collection Development Librarian– No budget in place

• No allocations by discipline• Subject selectors had no idea what they had been

spending or what they should be spending

– No collection development policy– No collection assessment– No usage statistics

• Circulation• Interlibrary loan

Purpose Of A BudgetPurpose Of A Budget• Rational distribution of funds

– Allocate limited resources fairly and objectively based on equity and need

• Primary tool of collection development– Furthers current collection development goals– Prioritizes future collecting objectives– Monitor spending over the fiscal year

• Transparency and accountability– Sound fiscal management

Factors to ConsiderFactors to Consider

• Collection needs of institution– Reflect curricula– Research needs of faculty

• Practical• Easily understood and implemented• Flexibility• Politically defensible

Relation to Other Collection Relation to Other Collection Development ActivitiesDevelopment Activities

• Collection development policy– General collecting guidelines – Subject specific collecting levels

• Collection Development and Management Committee

• Fund codes• By department and format

• Liaison activities• Statistics: Collection usage and analysis

Related ConsiderationsRelated Considerations

•Acquisitions and selection of materials–All monographs are firm orders–Slip plan

•ILS–Workflows for making selections and placing orders use templates with fund codes

•Consortia arrangements

Problems with AllocatingProblems with AllocatingBy Historical PrecedentBy Historical Precedent

• Yearly increments to a subject based on past spending

• Result: Unbalanced collections– Rewards departments and selectors who are or

have been more active

Allocate With a FormulaAllocate With a Formula• Common factors

– Number of faculty in a department– Accreditation standards– Number of courses– Course enrollment; number/types of students – Number of majors– Terminal degree offered – Size of current collections– ILL activity– Circulation of and perceived need for materials– Publishing factors – output and cost of materials

Problems with FormulasProblems with Formulas

• Hard to gather data when it gets too elaborate

• Hard to explain it • Can not allocate the entire budget• Arbitrary and subjective

– Manipulation of formula components based on local conditions and biases

– Weighting factors– Whether to use just for monographs, journals, or

allocating increases

Percentage Based AllocationPercentage Based Allocation

• Introduced by Genaway in 1986– The percentage of a library’s budget allocated to

each department corresponds to the percentage of the total university budget for that department for instruction and research

• Representative of how a University as a whole funds each department– Reflects curricula and programs

• Indirectly reflects variables in most formulas

AssumptionsAssumptions

• University budget to each department reflects the criteria found in most formulas

• Balanced collection of library materials reflecting the curricula is desirable

• Positive correlation between an academic department’s budget and library intensiveness

TargetTarget

• Recommended for small to medium sized, non-research oriented academic libraries– Collection that include a variety of formats– Provides a starting point for identifying

imbalances and inequities in library allocations

CaveatsCaveats• Not practical for non-departmental

allocations– Reference, special collections, maps, databases

• Does not take into account a discipline’s– Publication output– Cost of materials– User intensity of library resources

• Provides a basis for a documented allocation process – Professional judgment still needed

ProcessProcess• Determine which part of the Library

budget is departmental by excluding– Microfilm– Reference– Library science– Replacement– Maps– Specific allocations

• Instructional and research budget from the Treasurer’s office– Full and part-time faculty

Analyze Library BudgetAnalyze Library Budget

• Allocated by format lines – Books, continuations, subscriptions, microfilm,

nonprint, electronic resources– Ability to move funds among format lines

• Decreasing relevance of format indicating function

• Past 3 year historical spending– Understanding of current departmental

spending– Can’t make extreme changes to budget in any

one year• 10% increase or decrease at any one time

1801: Swirbul/Science 1,851,2641801-4361 Library Books 331,6041801-4362 Continuations 212,5721801-4363 Newspaper/Periodicals 499,3991801-4364 Microforms 64,504 ALLOCATED AS IS1801-4365 Films and Slides (Nonprint) 35,6911801-4366 Curriculum Material (CMC) 8,134 ALLOCATED AS IS1801-4368 Machine Readable Materials 681,3881801-4369 Maps 679 ALLOCATED AS IS1801-4371 Ethnic Materials 17,293 ALLOCATED AS IS

1,851,2641803: Manhattan 58,375 ALLOCATED AS IS

1803-4361 Library Books 25,9551803-4362 Continuations 3,8031803-4363 Newspaper/Periodicals 25,3401803-4366 CMC 1,7861803-4365 Films and Slides 1,491

58,3751804: Hauppauge 39,726 ALLOCATED AS IS

1804-4361 Library Books 16,3971804-4362 Continuations 8,9031804-4363 Newspaper/Periodicals 14,426

39,7261809: Special Collections 3,300 ALLOCATED AS IS

1809-4361 Library Books 4,079

1810: Hudson Valley 13,350 ALLOCATED AS IS1810-4361 Library Books 4,9131810-4362 Continuations 2241810-4368 Films and Slides 4151810-4365 E resources 7,338

12,890

TOTAL MATERIALS 1,966,334

Library Books 331,604Continuations(subscriptions) 212,572

Newspaper/Periodicals (subscriptions)

499,399

Microforms 64,504(Nonprint) Films and Slides 35,691

Curriculum Material 8,134Machine Readable

(subscriptions) 681,388

Maps 679Ethnic Materials 17,293

TOTAL MATERIALS 1,851,264

Subtotal Non-Departmental 771,998

Swirbul Reference 70,000Library Science 20,000

Swirbul Replacement 6,000General (add contingency to this fund) 70,000Dean's 1,000

Total Other Non-Departmental 167,000TOTAL NON-DEPARTMENTAL 938,998

TOTAL ALLOCATED/DEPARTMENTAL

912,266

5% contingency From Total Allocated/Departmental 45,613

SWIRBUL DEPT TOTAL (MONOGRAPHS/ CONTINUATIONS/

PERIODICALS/NONPRINT

866,653

SWIRBUL N-D and D Add Back 1,851,264

FlexibilityFlexibility•Contingency

–Unanticipated curricula needs–Collection imbalances/gaps (assessment)–Special buying opportunities and deals–Interdisciplinary material–Address discrepancies in publishing output–Big ticket items

•March 1 release date of funds–Reallocation of uncommitted funds before end of fiscal year

Department Overhead Percent Library PBAA 3,037 0.0304 $26,322B 2,933 0.0293 $25,415C 4,218 0.0422 $36,554D 2,268 0.0227 $19,658E 2,093 0.0209 $18,138F 814 0.0081 $7,051G 3,799 0.0380 $32,923H 654 0.0065 $5,669I 2,360 0.0236 $20,456

J 1,579 0.0158 $13,683K 3,026 0.0303 $26,227L 1,600 0.0160 $13,869M 1,315 0.0131 $11,395N 907 0.0091 $7,861O 1,960 0.0196 $16,987P 1,354 0.0135 $11,737Q 12,500 0.1250 $108,336R 16,043 0.1604 $139,038S 8,178 0.0818 $70,873T 8,870 0.0887 $76,873U 20,491 0.2049 $177,588

$866,653TOTAL ALLOCATION 100,000 1.0000 $866,653

2008 PBA

Compare to Past 3 Year AverageCompare to Past 3 Year Average

•Average higher than the PBA–Reduce by no more than 10%

•Average lower than the PBA–Increase by no more than 10%

•Create allocation for department–Subtract anticipated periodical and continuation costs–Apportion monographs and nonprint–Put into fund code lines by department and format

SnapshotSnapshot

07 08 PBA 06 07 PBA3 Year

Average 08 09 PBA08 09

ALLOCATION

hisb 24,000 25,000 28,162 20,000(hisc) 75 160 125 3,500(hisp) 2,600 2,000 2,415 2,500

hisn 500 500 815 1,000TOTAL 27,175 27,660 31,517 20,456 27,000

danb 1,500 1,200 1,278 2,900(danc) 50 50 19 50(danp) 50 50 36 50

dann 1,500 1,500 574 500TOTAL 3,100 2,800 1,907 7,051 3,500

b=monographs; c= continuations; p=periodicals; n=nonprint

DocumentationDocumentationThe materials budget for the Adelphi University Libraries serves as a tool for collection development by translating collecting priorities into the allocation of appropriate levels of funding for each department and school. Librarians involved in the selection process can then plan and monitor their subject specific purchases for the fiscal year by tracking the spending of their specific fund allocations. The budget also has flexibility for contingencies related to economics, purchase opportunities, budget transfers, and changing curriculum and program needs. It also takes into account collection evaluations and deficiencies, publishing patterns and costs in a discipline, reliance of monographs versus serials in a discipline, user populations and intensity of use, and an overall analysis of expenditures for the previous fiscal year.

The materials budget is divided into non-departmental, general funds and departmental funds. The non-departmental segment of the budget is reserved for the purchase of:

Microform, reference, library science professional materials, lost material replacement, maps, specific University allocations, and non-departmental/general material and electronic resources.

The projected costs for non-departmental materials are then subtracted from the total amount budgeted for Library materials.

Five percent (5%) of the departmental materials budget is next set aside as a contingency fund for special purchases and potential material fund transfers, and is included in the general fund allocations.

The remaining funds are then divided among the academic departments and schools according to a Percentage Based Allocation (PBA), which mirrors the percentage of the total institutional budget devoted to each department/school. While allocations are not solely based on PBA, this formulation serves to provide a base for identifying potential imbalances and inequities in historical allocations.

Periodical subscriptions, continuations, nonprint, and monograph costs are included in each allocation.

Commitments to periodicals and continuations are determined, with the remaining funds then allocated for monographic and, if applicable, nonprint purchases.

The allocations for non- fixed subject specific materials (books and nonprint) are then placed into corresponding fund code lines to create the final budget.

While restricted account funds (such as grants, donations, and gifts from the Friends of the Library, Davis, Ornstein, and Schneider) may be considered part of a department’s overall support, they are primarily to enrich the collection and are not considered part of the materials budget allocation.

The allocations for the Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Hudson Valley center libraries are kept separate from those of Swirbul, the main Garden City campus library. This is because of the more fluid nature of the program offerings at these campuses, which does not allow a firm allocation of materials to specific departments.

The Library fiscal year is September 1 to August 31 of the following year. Monograph allocation funds must be encumbered by subject selectors according to the following schedule in order to have all material received and paid for by the end of the fiscal year:

80% on or before January 1

100% on or before March 1

Selectors should plan to end the fiscal year with 100% of their budget expended and more than 100% committed. The over commitment is because there will be outstanding orders that will not have come in and paid for by the end of the fiscal year.

On March 2, all unencumbered funds are released to fulfill any existing needs within the scope of the budget. These needs may relate to any format or means of access that are deemed necessary to fulfill collection needs, and specific subject fund availability can not be guaranteed after this date

Selectors have the ability to check fund reports for their specific subject areas via Millennium. These reports show the allocations for each fund line, the amount encumbered and expended, and the free, unencumbered balance for books and nonprint materials. Expenditures and encumbrances for all subscriptions (periodicals, continuations, electronic resources, microfilm) can be run by request to Acquisitions.

MonitoringMonitoring

• Millennium (III)• Monthly summary reports• Collection Development and

Management Committee sets priorities for rational use of unencumbered funds

Rept.5 Adelphi University Library 11-01-2008 07-08 Dept Funds: ACCOUNTING REPORT -- Rept.5 Appropriation Expenditure Encumbrance Free Balance Cash Balance % 07-08 Dept Funds ANTHROPOLOGY antb $2,500.00 $284.39 $95.00 $2,120.61 $2,215.61 15% antn $300.00 $1,490.00 $57.98 -$1,247.98 -$1,190.00 516% ANTHROPOLOGY Total $2,800.00 $1,774.39 $152.98 $872.63 $1,025.61 69% ART-PHOTOGRAPHY artb $20,000.00 $5,275.78 $3,778.73 $10,945.49 $14,724.22 45% artn $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $500.00 0% ART-PHOTOGRAPHY Total $20,500.00 $5,275.78 $3,778.73 $11,445.49 $15,224.22 44% BUSINESS accb $2,500.00 $77.02 $547.90 $1,875.08 $2,422.98 25% accn $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 **% busb $17,000.00 $1,775.73 $2,167.34 $13,056.93 $15,224.27 23% busn $500.00 $21.97 $0.00 $478.03 $478.03 4% ecob $13,000.00 $1,945.93 $1,234.25 $9,819.82 $11,054.07 24% econ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 **% BUSINESS Total $33,000.00 $3,820.65 $3,949.49 $25,229.86 $29,179.35 24% CHEMISTRY cheb $3,000.00 $799.72 $29.95 $2,170.33 $2,200.28 28% chen $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 **% CHEMISTRY Total $3,000.00 $799.72 $29.95 $2,170.33 $2,200.28 28% COMMUNICATIONS-FILM comb $9,000.00 $575.83 $423.80 $8,000.37 $8,424.17 11% comn $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $500.00 0% COMMUNICATIONS-FILM Total $9,500.00 $575.83 $423.80 $8,500.37 $8,924.17 11% CMC curb $7,500.00 $236.08 $40.09 $7,223.83 $7,263.92 4% curn $634.00 $0.00 $0.00 $634.00 $634.00 0% CMC Total $8,134.00 $236.08 $40.09 $7,857.83 $7,897.92 3% DANCE danb $3,000.00 $349.54 $177.50 $2,472.96 $2,650.46 18% dann $500.00 $17.99 $0.00 $482.01 $482.01 4% DANCE Total $3,500.00 $367.53 $177.50 $2,954.97 $3,132.47 16% Dean's Discretionary Total $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 **% EARTH SCIENCE earb $2,500.00 $250.02 $0.00 $2,249.98 $2,249.98 10% earn $300.00 $0.00 $0.00 $300.00 $300.00 0% EARTH SCIENCE Total $2,800.00 $250.02 $0.00 $2,549.98 $2,549.98 9% EDUCATION Education edub $18,000.00 $629.12 $879.59 $16,491.29 $17,370.88 8% edun $2,000.00 $12.47 $0.00 $1,987.53 $1,987.53 1% Education Total $20,000.00 $641.59 $879.59 $18,478.82 $19,358.41 8% Early Childhood Educa chib $250.00 $0.00 $0.00 $250.00 $250.00 0% chin $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 **% Early Childhood Educa Total $250.00 $0.00 $0.00 $250.00 $250.00 0%

FutureFuture• Formats may change, but still need

guidelines for allocating by discipline• Format as a surrogate for function

– Meaning of an electronic resource: database, journal collections, e-books

– Allocate databases and journal packages by discipline

• Format migration– Reference moving to online from print– Cut back in microfilm for online access

• Collection assessment/collection gaps– WorldCat Collection Analysis Tool

Final ThoughtsFinal Thoughts

• PBB is a flexible guide• Budget allocation is an art and not a

science• Professional judgment will always be

required

THANK YOU!