Albert Henderson wrote:

> If you would look at the skyrocketing of academic R&D funding,
> rather than publishers' prices, you might see that it was the
> universities that betrayed you and your patrons -- not the
> publishers.

Skyrocketing of WHAT R&D funding???  Perhaps the ARL libraries have such
funding, but please, Mr. Henderson, wake up and understand that ARL
libraries are only a small minority and are >very< different from most of
us.  Many of the university libraries, such as mine, are funded by the
state and most certainly do NOT have the enormous amount of grants and
bequests and slush funding that those few big ones do. Our spending is
closely watched by state governments and there are many fewer ways our
administrations can hide or syphon off monies from the library to their
own pockets or to pet projects.  Reserves? Profits? We have none. If we
don't spend the budget we receive this year, the legislature will
certainly give us less next year.

Not that universities still don't do dumb things -- mine is currently
starting to build an extremely expensive new library so we can merge
(although not totally) with our city public library -- but even that is in
an attempt to share expenses with the city and perhaps have more money
available for buying materials.

> The falling tide will ground all boats that don't
> bother to put out to sea. If lowering prices would
> not put them out of business, believe me, publishers
> would happily lower their prices.
>
> ARL statistics projected in a PW article a few years
> ago indicated that ARL libraries would buy nothing
> in a decade or two. Will they then employ librarians
> or just mail order clerks?

Not mail order clerks: there won't be that much mail! The ARL libraries?
They'll probably keep the librarians. But us smaller ones? Can't speak for
others, but we're certainly getting a little thin on the ground here, and
more & more professional work is being handed over to para-professionals
every week.  Serials cataloging is now being done by paraprofessionals
with no serials experience and by student assistants. We have really only
one professional fulltime cataloger. The Special Collections librarian
position has just been replaced with a paraprofessional, and rumour has it
that beginning next fall service in the media/recordings/music scores area
will be mainly by student assistants and shelvers, with a little
paraprofessional assistance. It's a matter of budget, Mr. Henderson, as
much as mindset.

Kathleen Thorne
former Serials Cataloger, now Collection Development

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Kathleen Thorne, Serials Cataloger
San Jose State University, San Jose CA 95192-0028
ph: (408) 924-2826   fax: (408) 924-2701
email: kathleen@email.sjsu.edu

---Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines---
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