ERIC ED355965: ARL Statistics, 1991-92. A Compilation of Statistics from the One Hundred and Twenty Members of the Association of Research Libraries.

103 Pages·1993·2.2 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 355 965
IR 054 525
AUTHOR
Daval, Nicola, Comp.; Brennan, Patricia, Comp.
ARL Statistics, 1991-92. A Compilation of Statistics
TITLE
from the One Hundred and Twenty Members of the
Association of Research Libraries.
Association of Research Libraries, Washington,
INSTITUTION
D.C.
REPORT NO
ISSN-0147-2135
PUB DATE
93
103p.; Data tables are on large double-sided foldout
NOTE
pages.
AVAILABLE FROM Association of Research Libraries, 1527 New Hampshire
Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036 (ARL members, $20
per year; non-members, $60 per year).
PUB TYPE
Statistical Data (110) Reports
Tests/Evaluation
Research /Technical (143)
Instruments (160)
EDRS PRICE
MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS Academic Libraries; *Budgets; Economic Impact;
*Financial Problems; Foreign Countries; Higher
Education; Interlibrary Loans; Library Associations;
Library Collections; Library Cooperation; Library
Expenditures; *Library Statistics; Library Surveys;
Public Libraries; *Research Libraries; Retrenchment;
Tables (Data)
IDENTIFIERS
*Association of Research Libraries; Canada; United
States
ABSTRACT
This volume presents data for the U.S. and Canadian
libraries that were members of the Association of Research Libraries
(ARL) during the 1991-92 fiscal year. The ARL membership consisted of
108 university libraries and 12 public or private independent
research libraries. Overall, the 1991-92 statistics offer a gloomy
view of the traditional research library, with declining serial
subscriptions and monograph acquisitions, fewer staff, budgets
falling behind, or budgets barely keeping up with inflation. This
view is relieved somewhat by the promise of access provided by
interlibrary borrowing and lending. A lengthy table lists the member
libraries, with statistics for several categories in the general
areas of collections, interlibrary loans, and expenditures. A summary
table indicates totals in these categories. Two tables provide (1) an
analysis of selected variables of university libraries; and (2)
Ph.D., faculty, and enrollment statistics. Eighteen tables then
present rank order variables for member libraries. The auestionnaire
used to gather the statistics and its cover letter are included.
Extensive notes (31 pages) add information to the tables. (SLD)
***********************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
***********************************************************************
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ARL STATISTICS, 1991-92
ARL STATISTICS
1991-92
A COMPILATION OF STATISTICS
FROM THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MEMBERS OF THE
ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES
Compiled by
Nicola naval
and
Patricia Brennan
ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1993
The ARL Statistics is published annually by
Association of Research Libraries
1527 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
ARL Members $20.00/year
Price:
Nonmembers $60.00/year
ARL statistical data are also available from
the Association in machine-readable form.
Association of Research Libraries.
ARL statistics.
Washington, Association of Research Libraries.
v. 29 cm.
Began with 1974/15 issue.
Continues: Academic library statistics, ISSN 0571-6519
Key title: ARL statistics, ISSN 0147-2135
1. Libraries, University and CollegeUnited States Statistics
2. Research LibrariesUnited StatesStatistics
Collected works.
3. Libraries, University and CollegeCanada
Collected works.
StatisticsCollected works. 4. Research LibrariesCanadaStatis-
I. Title.
ticsCollected works.
77-647280
027.773
Z675.U5A78
MARC-S
77
Library of Congress
copyright © 1993 by the Association of Research Libraries
Printed in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
I.
7
II.
ARL Library Data Tables
11
Totals
31
III.
Analysis of Selected Variables
34
IV.
Ph.D., Faculty, and Enrollment Statistics
35
V.
Summary of Rank Order Tables of University Libraries
38
Volumes in Library
1.
45
Volumes Added (Gross)
2.
46
Current Serials (Total)
3.
47
Microform Holdings
4.
48
Government Documents
5.
49
Materials Expenditures
6.
50
Salaries & Wages Expenditures
7.
51
Other Operating Expenditures
8.
52
Total Operating Expenditures
9.
53
Monographs Purchased (Volumes)
10.
54
Expenditures for Monographs
11.
55
Serials Purchased (Titles)
12.
56
Expenditures for Serials
13.
57
Total Items Loaned
14.
58
Total Items Borrowed
15.
59
Professional Staff (PIE)
16.
60
Nonprofessional Staff (FTE)
17.
61
Total Staff (FTE)
18.
62
VII.
ARL Statistics Questionnaire, 1991-92
63
VIII.
Footnotes to the ARL Statistics, 1991-92
71
Errata Sheet
after page 102
0
5
University
ARL Library and U.S. ARL
Expenditures, 1982-1992,
In Constant (1982) Dollars
70%
Serials
Other Operating
Library
60%
University
50%
Univ. Research
Total Univ.
Expenditures
C
h
a
Univ. Instruction
40%
Total Library
Expenditures
Non-Serial
/1
Materials
30%
e
Salaries and Wages
1
9
8
2
20%
10%
I
0%
a
'
'
'
'
'
1
1
1
1
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
Fiscal Year
INTRODUCTION
The 1991-92 ARL Statistics presents data for the U.S. and Canadian libraries that were
The ARL
members of the Association of Research Libraries during the 1991-92 fiscal year.
membership consisted of 108 university libraries and 12 public or private, independent research
Auburn University became a member of the Association during the year, and is
libraries.
represented in these statistics for the first time.
1991-92 is the second year in which a data category for separately shelved government
Included in this category are publications of federal, state, and provincial
documents appears.
governments and international organizations that are not represented in the libraries' online or other
regular catalogs and that are housed separately from the general collections. Documents that are
classified and individually represented in the catalogs, whether or not they are housed separately, and
regardless of the type of classification, are now to be included in the categories of Volumes in
Library, Volumes Added, and Current Serials (Not Purchased and Total). For some libraries the
addition of documents to volumes held and added and to serials may have produced discontinuities
this year, as well as last year, in their historical series of data. The Footnotes to this volume and the
instructions for the ARL, statistics questionnaire may provide further clarification about how libraries
are integrating documents into their statistics.
In 1991-92 ARL libraries were squeezed more than at any time in the previous decade
between the rock of serials prices and the hard place of declining funds. For the first time in a
decade total expenditures for all university library members of ARL rose no more than inflation,
even while the prices of materials were rising considerably faster than inflation. The graph on the
facing page illustrates the dilemma that the university members of ARL faced in 1992, and continue
to face. The graph displays changes in five categories of total library expenditures since 1982 for the
96 libraries that have been members and have reported data throughout this period.
The
expenditures are expressed in constant (1982) dollars, so that increases in expenditures in this graph
indicate increases in real buying power. For comparison the graph also displays changes in three
categories of university expenditures for the U.S. members represented in the graph:
total
educational and general university expenditures, expenditures for instruction (about 37% of the total
in 1990), and expenditures for research (about 21% of total E & G expenditures).'
As the graph shows, during the decade since 1982 serials expenditures have risen 67% more
than inflation, and other operating expenditures (including automation costs) have kept close but
erratic company. Through 1990 serials and other operating expenditures increased faster than almost
In particular, for the U.S. ARL libraries, the
every major category of university expenditures.
increase in money spent on serials exceeded the increase in university spending on sponsored
research and development. By 1990 the ARL libraries were spending about 6% more on serials than
could be justified if serials expenditures were tied strictly to increases in research funding.2 Except
for serials and other operating expenses, however, most of the other categories of library
expenditures increased less than the university expenditure categories of instruction, research, and
total E & G expenditures. Total library expenditures rose at about the same rate as instruction,
though by 1990 falling a bit behind these costs of teaching salaries and related expenditures. Sc the
7
other
overall picture that the graph presents is one of serials expenditures and its wayward partner
while
operating expenditures exceeding the common bounds of expenditure increases in universities,
along
expenditures for monographs and other materials and expenditures for ARL staff are dragging
behind instruction, research, and total university expenditures.
Percentages of ARL Libraries Showing
Decreases and Increases in Various Data
Categories, 1591 to 1992
52%
Total Staff
as
4
Purchased Serials
40%
Monographs
54%
54%
Other Operating
491e
CIS
Mono. Expend.
44%
72%
Salaries t Wages
27%
79%
Total Expend.
27%
15%
Serial Expend.
21%
t
I I
I
I I
75% 100%
255
50%
100% 75%
20%
0%
50%
% Increase
% Decrease
inflation each
In the years when total library expenditures would increase 10-19% more than
love." By 1992, for an ARL library, money
year, the Beatles used to insist that "money can't buy me
libraries
also wouldn't buy you serials or much of anything else. The chart above shows how research
libraries employed fewer
spent more in 1992 for less than they acquired in 1991. 68% of ARL
54%
professional and support staff in 1992 than in 1991. 59% had fewer paid serial subscriptions.
for their
acquired fewer monographs. In contrast (from the bottom of the chart), 75% spent more
staff.
fewer subscriptions. 73% had higher total expenditures and higher expenditures for fewer
56% spent more for fewer monographs. And 54% had higher other operating expenditures.
9
8
For totals and averages, the contrasts are even more striking:
ARL members paid $15.7 million more for serials in 1992 than in 1991, but had an
average of about 600 fewer subscriptions per library, or around 60,000 fewer serials
among all ARL academic libraries. Even though serials expenditures rose faster than
university R & D expenditures, the libraries still had to cancel subscriptions.
The libraries purchased some 100,000 fewer monographs than in 1991, but paid over
$300,000 more for them.
The total number of professional and support staff declined by 500, while total salaries
and wages rose by over $18 million.
In this context of declining acquisitions and staffing, it was good news that interlibrary
lending had increased access by 32,000 transactions, and interlibrary borrowing by 87,000.
In fact, the 6.8% increase in borrowing by ARL libraries exceeded even the 5.4% increase
in expenditures for serials (while lending by ARL libraries, curiously, rose only about 1%).
The 1991-92 statistics thus offer a gloomy view of the traditional research library
a view
of declining serial subscriptions and monograph acquisitions, of fewer staff, of budgets falling behind
or barely keeping up with inflation
a view relieved, however, by the promise of access held out
by interlibrary borrowing and lending.
Those using the ARL Statistics to compare individual libraries should consult the "Footnotes"
and the symbols in the "ARL Library Data Tables." Although definitions used in the Statistics aim
at consistency, differing reporting practices do exist among member libraries. To aid comparability
in the ARL Statistics, expenditures of Canadian libraries are expressed in U.S. dollars, at the rate of
This exchange rate is the average of the average
1.1623 Canadian dollars to one U.S. dollar.
monthly noon exchange rates published in the Bank of Canada Review for the period July, 1991-June,
1992. Expenditures reported in Canadian dollars are given in the "Footnotes" to the ARL Statistics.
The quantitative rank order tables presented in this publication are not indicative of
performance and outcomes, and should not be used as measures of library quality. In comparing
any individual library to ARL medians or to other ARL members, one must be careful to make such
comparisons within the context of differing institutional and local goals and characteristics.
Kendon Stubbs
University of Virginia Library
January 10, 1992
NOTES
1. The ARL data are from the machine-readable version of the ARL statistics, available
from the ARL Office. The university data are from the National Center for Education Statistics
I
9
4-