We have a combined line for the two, but I used to work at a place where things were "line-itemed" and I hated it. The more you can have a combined budget, the more flexibility you have. You may collectively decide to assign $x to each category as a benchmark guideline for yourselves, but if circumstances change, you can revisit the decision and re-allocate. If you start with a line item budget, you can't. In one place I worked, we used to wait with certain serials and then buy the back issues out of monographs as a one-time purchase to get around the fact that we didn't have enough $ in the serials line.
Aline
Aline Soules
Cal State East Bay
510-885-4596
Hello,
We are restricting our budget, and I have a question for you. Does anyone combine the budget lines for serials and databases into one category such as continuing resources, or do you separate it out? What do you find are the benefits and drawback for each?
Thank you.
Tracey Thompson
Acquisitions Librarian/College Asst. Professor
New Mexico State University Library
MSC 3475 PO Box 30006
Las Cruces, NM 88003
Phone: 575-646-8093
Fax: 575-646-7077
Skype: Jenymn
SL: Jenymn Mersand
Email: thomtd@nmsu.edu