RECENT TRENDS IN ACADEMIC-LIBRARY MATERIALS EXPENDITURES

Library expenditures have increased faster than inflation over the las t six years. Ironically, libraries are losing ground economically in s everal key areas. How can this be? Claims on the library dollar--not o nly unit prices but the full spectrum of library budgetary demands--ar e growing even faster than the library budget. Not only have the price s of monographs and serials increased, but journal proliferation has p laced additional pressures on the library dollar. Despite the stabilit y of library funding over recent years, libraries are shifting funds a way from book purchase toward serials purchase. But even this shift is not enough to cover the shortfall. Book collections are weaker, and s till many libraries cannot provide comprehensive coverage of the journ al literature. Both serial cancellations and serial acquisitions are t aking place concurrently.