Post-Secondary Acquisitions Budget Challenges: A Canadian Perspective

Against the Grain, Dec 2016

By Michael Shires, Published on 09/01/16

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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 • Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation 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)


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Michael Shires. Post-Secondary Acquisitions Budget Challenges: A Canadian Perspective, Against the Grain, 2016, Volume 28, Issue 4,