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DataBank: Library Fund Management Tips & Tools

MEASURING LIBRARY SUPPORT PER SUBJECT AREA

Library support for a given subject is not the same as the amount of money that the subject specialist with responsibility for the subject has to expend.

Therefore, all expenditures throughout the budget that relate to the subject must be included to make calculations such as the ratio of recurring versus non-recurring expenses, a fundamental and crucial piece of information in fund management.

To funds used by subject specialists must be added, for example, the amount expended from other lines such as General or Central lines for books received on approval or via e-book packages, journals in databases and Big Deals, etc.

LIBRARY SUPPORT & WHAT THE BUDGET OUGHT TO LOOK LIKE

You can calculate the shape of the pie using data in Collections Budget Analysis. See, for example, "FY12 Collections Budget Analysis." To calculate the proportion of books versus journals purchased in support of a subject, you must know all allocations and the amounts spent through approval plans, Big Deals and other journal packages, e-book packages, etc. You can find these figures in the budget reports.