Facts in Graphs
UC Berkeley: How UC Berkeley Dollars Are Spent | E-Journal Usage
Scholarly Publishing: Information Explosion | Inflation | Sample Journal Prices
How UC Berkeley Collection Dollars Are Spent
Print and Digital
UC Berkeley collection budgets increasingly support access to digital content. In 2006, 35% of the collections budget was spent on digital resources. The growth in expenditure on digital content arises on two fronts: active engagement with and contribution to UC systemwide licensed access agreements, as well as a significant investment in resources that are available only to the UC Berkeley academic community.
| Media Type | Amount Spent |
|---|---|
| Print (books, journals, manuscripts, microforms, analog media, etc.) | $8,091,000 |
| Digital (UCB) | $1,366,993 |
| Digital (UC consortial) | $2,899,879 |
Disciplinary Support
UC Berkeley collection dollars are committed as efficiently as possible to support the broad range of academic programs. The funds are managed by over 45 subject specialists with annual allocations to cover journals, books, and electronic resources. In 2006, funds covering print books, journals and special collections were expended between Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences (AHSS) and the Sciences as reflected in the following graph:
In 2006, funds covering access to digital resources (e-journals, databases, e-book packages, etc) were expended across the disciplinary groups as reflected in the following graph:
Budgetary Pressures
During the past six years the collections budget has maintained a fairly steady division of expenditures between continuing commitments (subscriptions to journals, newspapers, databases and monographic series) and one-time purchases (books, special collections, etc.).
The impact of continuing commitments can be contrasted with those at peer institutions according to the latest Associate for Research Libraries data on serial vs. monograph expenditures.
Percentage of (2005) Collection Dollars:
| Institution | Serials | Monographs |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 59% | 41% |
| Harvard | 37% | 63% |
| Illinois | 73% | 27% |
| Texas | 60% | 40% |
| UC Berkeley | 65% | 35% |
| UCLA | 56% | 44% |
E-Journal Usage
One indicator of a journal title's utility is how often is it used. The Library is building a directory of usage statistics for over thirty publisher packages.
Information Explosion
The amount of material that is available for purchase has increased faster than library's ability to purchase. (Table courtesy of Mary Case, ARL, Director — Office of Scholarly Communication.)
| Year | Serials Published
as reported by Ulrich's |
|---|---|
| 1986 | 103,700 |
| 2002 | 164,000 |
The percentage change: 58%.
Another shift in journal publishing is the growing number of titles that are available online: compare 27,083 titles in 2002 (Ulrich's) to 110 titles reported in 1991(Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists, ARL).
Book publishing shows a similar dramatic increase in volume: "According to figures from UNESCO, over 850,000 books were published worldwide in 1996. Data from the top 15 producing countries reveals that book production increased 50% between 1985 and 1996." (Mary Case, ARL)
Inflation
The costs of library materials have fluctuated dramatically over the last 10 years, to the detriment of the purchasing power of library budgets.
As unit prices for serials and monographs have soared well above the CPI, library budgets have not even kept up with inflation. A table from the Association for Research Libraries (PDF) shows that, between 1986 and 2005
- The consumer price index increased by 78%.
- Monograph unit costs increased 81%, library expenditures for monographs increased 59%, and actual numbers of monographs purchased actually decreased 7%.
- Serials unit costs increased by 167%, library expenditures for serials increased a whopping 302%, and actual numbers of serials purchased increased by only 42%.
Sample Journal Prices
Average journal prices in 2001 by broad academic discipline (extrapolated from data in Library Journal, courtesy of Mary Case, ARL, Director — Office of Scholarly Communication).
| Broad Subject Area | Average Journal Price |
|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities | $188 |
| Social Sciences | $504 |
| Sciences | $974 |
Sample journal prices (courtesy of Mary Case, ARL, Director — Office of Scholarly Communication)
| Journal Title | 1995 | 2001 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Research | $10,181 | $17,444 | 71.3% |
| Biochim. Biophys. Acta | $7,555 | $12,127 | 60.5% |
| Chem. Phys. Letters | $5,279 | $9,637 | 82.6% |
| Tetrahedron Letters | $5,119 | $9,036 | 76.5% |
| Eur. Jrnl. of Pharmacology | $4,576 | $7,889 | 72.4% |
| Gene | $3,924 | $7,443 | 89.7% |
| Inorganica Chim. Acta | $3,611 | $6,726 | 86.3% |
| Intl. Jrnl. of Pharmaceutics | $3,006 | $5,965 | 98.4% |
| Neuroscience | $3,487 | $6,270 | 79.8% |
| Theoretical Computer Science | $2,774 | $4,608 | 66.1% |
| Jrnl. of Exp. Marine Bio. and Eco. | $1,947 | $3,501 | 79.8% |
Price increases aren't only dramatic in the Sciences(from Library Journal, courtesy of Mary Case, ARL, Director — Office of Scholarly Communication).
| Subject | % Increase |
|---|---|
| Military and Naval Science | 74.5% |
| Business and Economics | 56.9% |
| Sociology | 49.5% |
| Technology | 49.1% |
| Engineering | 48.9% |
| Political Science | 46.9% |
| Education | 45.0% |
| Health Sciences | 44.3% |
| Biology | 44.1% |
| Psychology | 43.8% |
| Chemistry | 39.4% |
| Physics | 35.8% |
| Mathematics and Computer Science | 35.6% |
| Anthropology | 34.9% |
| Law | 31.2% |
| History | 25.5% |
| Music | 23.7% |
| Philosophy and Religion | 21.2% |
| Language and Literature | 16.9% |
| Art and Architecture | 7.8% |
"Prepare for sticker shock if you're headed for the journal shelves in the Science Library. Dangling red tags are marking periodicals that have one-year subscription rates of $1,000 or higher. Some rates, such as the $19,396 for Nuclear Physics A and B, match the cost of a new midsize car. Relatively lower rates, such as $4,159.13 for Neuroscience Letters, still take your breath away…." — excerpt from Library Sees Red Over Rising Journal Prices, Scott J. Turner, George Street Journal, vol. 24.
