University Libraries
Principal Priorities for FY98


Increase student wage budget to cover the increase in the minimum wage.

	The Libraries depend heavily upon student workers to perform routine functions 
such as shelving, working at the circulation desk, and processing materials.  This past 
year, we employed the equivalent of 52 full time workers as students at a cost of 
$464,000.  Almost all of these students are paid the minimum wage.  On October 1, 1996, 
the minimum wage increased from $4.25 to $4.75 per hour and on September 1, 1997, it 
will increase again to $5.15, a combined total of 21%.  In order to continue to employ the 
same number of students, the Libraries needs an increase in its student wage budget of 
$98,275.  Without this increase, basic library functions will suffer.

Increase the Library Materials Budget to cover inflation.

	The cost of books and journals continues to escalate.  It is anticipated that costs 
for FY98 will increase by about 10%.  An increase of about $2,000,000 is needed to 
restore FY90 purchasing power.  If this is not achievable, then an increase of  10% of the 
FY97 budget or $650,000 is needed to maintain FY97 purchasing power.

Increase Salaries.

	The median salary for librarians has improved compared with our peer institutions 
in the Association of Research Libraries.  For FY97, we moved up to 81st out of 109 ARL 
members, just squeaking into the third quartile.  In recent years, our position was 100th  in 
FY94, 95th in FY95, and 90th in FY96.  If a 6% raise is forthcoming, this improvement 
should continue.  However, it should be pointed out that the overall ranking for the 
Libraries is 30th out of these same 109 institutions in the ARL membership index.  It is 
doubtful that any other unit on campus that ranks this high among its peers would also 
rank so low in median salaries compared to the same peer group.  Additional attention to 
salaries would be welcome.

Add New Positions.

	The FY97 budget provided funds to create some additional positions.  These 
positions were sorely needed and greatly appreciated.  We still are experiencing 
difficulties in providing adequate staff to assist students in the use of new resources.  Any 
additional funding in this area would significantly improve the level of service we can 
offer.

Pursue Library Building Projects.

	The need for new space for the Libraries continues to be an issue.   Our 
collections continue to grow, with notable additions to our special collections.  Also, we 
provide only 2,700 seats when the accepted standard calls for 4,500 for our current 
enrollment.  We actually provide fewer seats now then we did in 1973 when the Annex to 
the Main Library was constructed.  Further, the Repository will be full in a few years.  
	This past year, the major new library building that was on the campus list of 
capital priorities was broken into three separate projects – an Electronic Teaching Library 
that would be part of the proposed new library/classroom building, a special collections 
building with a storage facility, and an addition to the Science Library.  These proposed 
projects require additional study and attention over the coming year. 

Investigate New Integrated Library System.

	GALIN, the Libraries’ online catalog and processing system, operates on the 
University’s mainframe computer.  Newer commercial systems are available that operate 
on Unix platforms and provide greater functionality and better support for advanced 
networking.  We are starting to investigate these new systems in order to identify a 
possible replacement for GALIN.  This investigation is being undertaken in conjunction 
with all the libraries in the University System as the next phase of GALILEO.  Through 
the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, the University System libraries intend 
to request FY99 funds to purchase the same system for all libraries.  This will promote 
greater cooperation and allow students and faculty to more easily borrow materials from 
other libraries.  If this request for funds at the System level does not suceed, the 
University Libraries may still attempt to pursue replacing GALIN as a campus project.  
The cost to do this is estimated at between $750,000 and $1,000,000.  These costs could 
be spread over several years.

Coordinate Retrofit of Main Library HVAC.

	The University and the Regents have requested approximately $4,200,000 to 
upgrade the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in the older portion of the 
Main Library.  This project is certainly needed and appreciated.  However, it will disrupt 
services and require that a large number of staff be housed outside the Libraries for some 
period of time.  Coordinating this project will require considerable attention on the part of 
the Libraries.

Establish a Budget for Staff Equipment through Redirection.

	Library operations increasingly require the use of sophisticated equipment, 
especially computer workstations and networks.  A budget for this equipment has never 
been established and every year we struggle to squeeze the necessary dollars for staff 
equipment.  There is an opportunity to establish such a line due to the departure of two of 
the Libraries’ Assistant Directors.  Only one of them will be replaced and the remaining 
salary, about $67,000, will be devoted to the purchase of equipment for use by the staff.



Establish a Budget for Student/Faculty Workstations.

	An increasing portion of the Library Materials Budget is allocated to the purchase 
of electronic publications.  However, we also need to purchase the necessary equipment 
to use these publications.  If the increase to the Library Materials Budget is sufficient, up 
to $100,000 will be allocated for the purchase of workstations and related equipment for 
use by faculty and students.

Use Graduate Tuition Funds to Purchase Appropriate Electronic Resources.

	The allocation of funds from the increase in graduate tuition to the Libraries 
presents an opportunity to provide enhanced electronic resources to support graduate 
student research.  During the coming year, activity will focus upon acquiring electronic 
texts in the humanities, establishing a larger back-file of Biological Abstracts, and 
possibly mounting electronic versions of Science Citation Index and Social Science 
Citation Index.

Establish Electronic Publications Center.

	The possibility of establishing an area in the Main Library focused on the use of 
electronic resources and publications is being investigated.  These resources would 
support graduate student and faculty research.  Discussions are underway with the 
English Department and others in the humanities regarding a possible proposal to the 
UGA Research Foundation for funds for equipment and staffing.  

Continue Internal Study and Reorganization of the Libraries.

	A program review of the Libraries completed this past year was very positive.  
One notable finding was that over 95% of the students and faculty were either satisfied or 
very satisfied with the Libraries’ services and collections.  In the context of this review, 
an internal committee has been analyzing the Libraries organization looking for ways to 
further improve operations and communication.  Two of the three Assistant Directors 
have announced that they intend to retire and this affords an opportunity to thoroughly 
examine and reshape the Libraries’ organization.

									WGP 1/3/97