Post-Secondary Acquisitions Budget Challenges: A Canadian Perspective
Post-Secondar y Acquisitions Budget Challenges: A Canadian Perspective
Michael Shires 0 1 2
0 University of Regina
1 by Michael Shires, Collection Development and Liaison Librarian, University of Regina , 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2 Canada; Phone: 306-585-5418
2 Collection Development and Liaison Librarian, University of Regina 3737 Wascana Parkway , Regina, SK S4S 0A2 Canada Phone: (306) 585-5418 •
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Introduction
The University of Regina Library has been experiencing
acquisitions budget challenges for years. The analogy of an acquisitions
budget ticking time bomb describes the transition over the past several
years from the University Library acquiring mainly print resources
to primarily electronic resources. By 2014-2015 a majority of the
Library’s budget (79%) was allocated to online resources.
(Murphy
and Nelke, February 25 and 29, 2016)
Acquisitions budget challenges
have been compounded by increases in expenditures due largely to
annual inflationary increases of electronic subscriptions. Additionally,
purchasing power was significantly reduced in 2015 by a weakened
Canadian dollar (CAD). Approximately 82% of University of Regina
Library resources are priced in U.S. dollars (USD).
(Murphy and
Nelke, February 25 and 29, 2016)
The article will discuss the challenges
the University Library faced with experiencing a rapid weakening of
the CAD, a subsequent large budget shortfall, developing a strategy to
review subscription renewals, and communicating cancellations and the
new fiscal reality to faculty.
Background
Located in the capital city of Regina in the Western Canadian
province of Saskatchewan, the University of Regina is a mid-sized
comprehensive institution. It was established as Regina College in
1911 by the Methodist Church. The college later became a satellite
campus of the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. The University
of Regina was established as an autonomous university in 1974. The
main campus and historic College Avenue campus utilize more than
75 hectares in Wascana Park which is one of the largest urban parks in
North America.
(University of Regina, 2014/15 Annual Report, 4)
The
University works closely with its three federated colleges: Campion
College, First Nations University of Canada, and Luther College.
All degrees are issued by the University of Regina. The University
has 10 faculties, 25 academic departments, and 18 research centres and
institutes with programs leading to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral
degrees.
(University of Regina, Campus Facts, 2015/16)
More than
120 undergraduate programs and 78 graduate programs are offered.
(University of Regina Profile, 2015)
Full-time equivalent student
enrollment in Fall 2015 was 12,177. (University of Regina, Campus
Facts, 2015/16)
Exchange Rate Challenges
Many U.S. based organizations conduct foreign business
transactions using the USD. This has been the scenario with post-secondary
libraries in Canada that have signed license agreements with U.S. based
companies in the library and information management industry.
Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) recently investigated
measures to mitigate risk in post-secondary libraries associated with the
fluctuating CAD/USD exchange rate. CRKN is a partnership of 75
Canadian universities and it undertakes many licensing initiatives on
behalf of those institutions. In University Library Acquisitions Budgets:
Foreign Exchange Risk and CRKN, a report by CRKN and available
only to its members, stated:
According to Statistics Canada and the Canadian Association of
University Business Officers (CAUBO), Canadian university
libraries expend some $358M annually on library acquisitions...
CRKN manages roughly $100M through negotiating licenses
for electronic research content. Approximately 95% of CRKN’s
licences...are negotiated and settled in USD...in aggregate, 60%
of Canadian university library acquisition budgets are exposed
to USD foreign exchange risk. (CRKN, 3)
The recent decline of the CAD has compounded an already difficult
funding environment and has added a layer of complexity with setting
acquisitions budgets. The CAD has appreciated and deappreciated
relative to its U.S. counterpart for a variety of reasons — from a low
of 61.98 cents U.S. (1.6134 CAD/USD) in 2002 to a high of 108 cents
U.S. (0.9259 CAD/USD) in 2007. (CRKN, 6) Then the CAD rose to
average around parity against the USD between 2010 and 2013.
(Patterson, 2016)
However, the CAD drastically fell from 83.82 cents U.S.
(1.19 CAD/USD) in January 2015 to 69.97 cents U.S. (1.42 CAD/USD)
in January 2016.
(Bank of Canada 2015-16)
Like many institutions
in Canada, the University of Regina had not experienced a currency
crisis of this magnitude since the CAD reached an all-time low against
the USD in 2002.
Large Budget Shortfalls
CRKN’s repor (...truncated)