A Message from the Vice Provost to the UD Campus Community
Dear colleagues,
In response to a University-mandated budget reduction, the Library, Museums and Press will strategically reduce spending on books, journals, databases, special collections and other research materials during the 2020-2021 academic year (FY21). These cuts to the collections budget are due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Library, Museums and Press continues to support the University’s academic mission and contribute to the success of the UD campus community. With input from the academic community, we will carefully manage the reductions to minimize the impact on teaching, learning, research and scholarship.
While the extent of the reduction is still unknown at this time, the Library, Museums and Press has been asked to absorb a budget reduction, which will be spread across all spending areas. As part of the reduction in collections spending, the Library anticipates that collections spending will be reduced by canceling journals, databases, and reducing the acquisition of print books. We will make every attempt to retain highly used titles and those that exhibit high value based on their cost per use. As we have done especially since March 2020, we will continue to prioritize the acquisition of e-books over print books as these can generally be made available to more users simultaneously and better support the online teaching and learning environment.
We will seek out alternative means of accessing collections (such as open educational resources) that enable our community to pursue their teaching, learning and research interests. We will also continue to utilize existing partnerships with other libraries to request materials needed for teaching or research through Interlibrary Loan. Library liaisons will consult with the academic departments and centers about the decisions. We do regret that this action is necessary and appreciate your cooperation as we work through this process together.
The cuts will go into effect early in the 2021 calendar year. Please reach out to your library liaison, to Erin Daix, or to me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Trevor A. Dawes
Vice Provost for Libraries and Museums and May Morris University Librarian