Date: Mon, 05 May 1997 12:20:34 -0400
From: BobbieLou Dalton <BODALTON@LITTLE.DAVIDSON.EDU>
Subject: Re: Periodical Budgeting (Sallie Alger)

In response to Sallie Alger - another side to the story.

Sally,

Our library has approximately 3,000 paid subscriptions.  We do not have a
serials budget, we have a materials budget.  Our budget is divided among
the academic departments using a formula which takes into account the number
of faculty, the number of students taught by the department,
the number of majors, the average book price and the average subscription price.
The departments may spend their budget as they choose, as long as they stay
within their budget.
The faculty does the book and periodical selection.  We have a serials review
each year during which we ask the departments to look at what they subscribe to.
They make additions and deletions at that time.
Of course, they can make additions any time during the year.

I mentioned our method at a seminar last week and was told that it could
not possibly work. Well, it does.  And it works very well.
We have a faculty that is very interested in the
library.  We have kept our book and serial ratio at about 40% books and
60% serials for years with no big serials cancellation projects.
We have kept within our budget.  We do not have short, chopped up
runs of serials.  When a department decides to drop a title, it is offered
to other departments that might have a need for that particular title.
If no other department picks up that title,
the reference staff in the library looks at the title to see if it is one
that the library's general budget should pick up.

I realize that this method cannot work for everyone, but it does work for us.

Bobbie Lou Dalton
Acquisitions Manager
E. H. Little Library
Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina 28036
bodalton@davidson.edu
704-892-2152