Faculty Senate Resolution on Funding Library Collections

Whereas, the quality of a university’s library is essential for the quality of the university, and

Whereas, the quality of the library depends on the comprehensiveness of its collections and databases, and

Whereas, collections and databases are currently controlled for the most part by private firms that have consistently raised their prices year after year, and

Whereas, the funds provided for maintenance of collections and databases to N.C. State University libraries have been inadequate to keep pace with the increasing cost of maintaining an adequate collection, and

Whereas, the lack of adequate funding has caused the N.C. State libraries to cut its collections several times, causing N.C. State to fall from forty-first to sixty-second out of the one hundred twenty five peer research libraries, and

Whereas, current library allocations are insufficient to address the problem of inadequate collections funding, and

Whereas, maintaining the collections and databases is essential if N.C. State is to retain its standing among Research I universities, therefore

Be it resolved, that a reliable, dedicated source of funding be provided to insure that collections and databases are adequate to serve current and future needs for those resources, and further

Be it resolved, that the administration consider student, faculty, staff, partner, and affiliate fees to dedicated exclusively to maintaining collections and databases, furthermore the library’s allocation from the Education and Technology fee and Facilities and Administration funds be increased.