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BE ? 

I jil.. 

OCT25 1979

WTI

V,

REGISTRAR'S

ornc ?

MAIL DESK

MEMORANDUM

H.M. ..va.. 

To......... 

.... 

Secreta ry of Senate 

..... 

Subject .. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SENATE 

LIBRARY c0MMITTEE-1978/79 

From ...... ?

i99e

Chairman 

Date ...... ..çtob..23.,.. 1.97.9...................... 

Attached please find the 1978/79 Annual Report 

of the Senate Library Committee for presentation to Senate. 

PS/cmfd

a tt 

cc: Members, Senate Library 

Committee 

^A

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 

?

SENATE LIBRARY COMMITTEE 

1978/79

The Senate Library Committee met on December 

7, 1978

and July 

5, 1979 -

no meeting took place in the Spring 

Semester, 

1979,

because pressure of work,on Librarians during 

the industrial dispute 

?

and on Faculty immediately after the 

dispute terminated, made it impossible to assemble a viable 

quorum. 

•

A number :  

of matters, carried over from last year, 

continued to exercise the Committee. 

?

These included revisions 

to the Loans' policy,, to facilitate maximum access to and use 

of the collections; the mounting of a trial serials' survey, 

to ensure both that serials essential to the work of the 

University community are obtained .and that limited funds are 

not expended on items which are otherwise available for. 

limited use and an attempt to identify a viable means of 

ensuring that Library materials are available to support 

new ventures by the University or by specific departments 

through an effective collections' evaluation procedure. 

Less recurrent items included the circulation of 

negative bibliographies to indicate more clearly the impact 

of restricted budgets on Library purchases; the 'savings' to 

.

?

continued/2 

-2-

be anticipated by changing from one monograph vendor to 

another in respect of the approvals plan; the implementation, 

and implications for Simon Fraser University, of the British 

Columbia Union Catalogue; changes in the organization of the 

Library; and the disposal of undesignated gift funds. 

The unifying factor between the, recurrent and 

irregular topics discussed may be identified as "the adequacy 

of the Library budget". 

?

The funds available to the Library 

- or rather, the lack of funds - has limited the options 

available 'in all matters discussed, from Loans' policy to 

serials, negative bibliographies and approvals' plan changes. 

The concerns, which conditioned the discussions 

over the above items, emerged clearly when the 

1979/80

.

Library Budget was examined at the meeting on July 

5, 1979.

It became clear that the funds then authorized would allow 

current serials' subscriptions and the approvals' plan for 

current monograph purchases to be maintained-only by further 

support staff reductions and the virtual elimination of 

purchases of retrospective monographs.. It was thus soon 

apparent that there was to be no amelioration of the 

restrictions imposed on, new serials' subscriptions three 

years ago; that new monographs beyond the somewhat basic 

purchases arranged through the approvals' plan could not be 

made.; and that no monographs published before 

1979

could be 

purchased. 

?

.

continued/3 

-3-

In ? 

these ? 

circumstances, ? 

the ? 

Senate ? 

Library 

Committee ? 

felt ? 

it ? 

was

?

necessary ? 

to ? 

advise 

?

the ? 

Chairmen ? 

of

Senate, ? 

of ? 

the ? 

Senate 

?

Committees ? 

on ? 

Academic 

?

Planning ? 

and

the ? 

University ? 

Budget, ? 

and ? 

the ? 

Deans ? 

of

?

its

?

opinion ? 

that 

?

the

budget ? 

was ? 

inadequate. 

The ? 

problem 

?

may ? 

be ? 

stated ? 

simply. 

The ? 

Senate 

?

Library ? 

Committee ? 

has

?

attempted ? 

to

ensure ? 

that 

?

the ? 

funds ? 

available ? 

to

?

the ? 

Library ? 

over ? 

the ? 

years 

have ? 

been 

?

expended ? 

in ? 

a ?

manner ? 

which 

?

will ? 

enable ? 

the

?

University 

to ? 

achieve 

?

Its

?

perceived ? 

goals. ? 

In ? 

the ? 

three ? 

financial 

?

years 

prior ? 

to

?

1979-80,

the ? 

Committee 

?

has ? 

tried ? 

to ? 

maintain 

?

momentum 

despite 

?

serious ? 

financial ? 

constraints. ? 

The ? 

Committee ? 

now

concludes 

?

either ? 

that ? 

adequate 

?

funds ? 

must ? 

be ? 

made 

?

available 

to

?

the

?

Library 

?

to ? 

enable ? 

the

?

University ? 

to ? 

stand ? 

some 

?

chance 

of ? 

achieving ? 

the ? 

University's 

?

goal sor 

?

that ? 

those ? 

goals 

?

must 

be

?

radically 

?

revised ? 

and ? 

curtailed. 

In ? 

essence, ? 

academic 

?

excellence ? 

involves 

?

much ? 

larger 

expenditure ? 

on ? 

Library ? 

materials 

?

and ? 

a ?

higher ? 

staff 

?

ratio 

than 

?

is

?

currently 

?

possible. 

The ? 

decline ? 

in

?

staff ? 

positions ? 

since 

?

1970/71

indicated ? 

on ? 

graph ? 

I

?

attached. ? 

The ? 

expenditure ? 

over ? 

the ? 

same 

period ? 

on ? 

salaries ? 

(despite 

?

the ? 

reductions), ? 

on

?

overall 

acquisitions, ? 

serials 

?

and ? 

monographs 

?

is

?

demonstrated 

?

on ? 

graph ? 

2,

while ? 

the

?

changing 

?

relationship ? 

between ? 

these ? 

key ? 

elements 

is ? 

demonstrated 

?

on ? 

graph ? 

3.

continued/14 

-

L

I

-

It should be borne in mind that total student FTE 

enrolment rose from 

6,281

in

1974

to

8,394

in

1979,

while 

Faculty increased from 

356

to

457

over the same period. 

P. Stigger 

Chairman 

Senate Library Committee 

PS/cmfd 

October 

oc'

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7 ?

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