Message from the University Librarian about the Library Acquisitions Budget 2025/26

For several years the UNBC Library has worked hard to maintain monograph allocations and serials subscriptions with a static budget.  However, subscriptions costs increase annually at an average rate of 5-7%/yr.  The Library makes every effort to reduce annual inflationary increases using the following strategies:

• We belong to national, regional, and provincial consortia who negotiate with vendors on behalf of their membership for many of the most expensive journal packages and databases, resulting in discounts and lower increases

• Purchase books from a vendor who offers a healthy discount on most titles

• Negotiate with vendors whenever a renewal quote is received that is unreasonably high and inquire about a reduction

• Periodic cancellations of lower-use resources

• Convert JSTOR subscriptions to one-time purchases to reduce our ongoing subscription commitments

• Use unspent funds from previous years to offset inflationary increases, however these funds have now been depleted.

For fiscal year 2025/26, the Library's Acquisitions Budget is projecting a deficit of ~$100,000.  To address this deficit, the library is planning a holistic review of all current subscriptions as well as an ongoing rationalization process for all subscriptions going forward. In addition the budget for books has been reduced by 50%.  We intend that the book budget reduction will be a short-term solution while we reassess all subscriptions as a number of programs rely heavily on books.  

As part of the subscription review, students, faculty, and staff will be invited to review potential cancellations in Winter semester and submit any retention requests via a survey. There will also be an opportunity to suggest new resources for potential subscriptions to ensure that the collection remains relevant to current curricula.  However, any additional subscription will need to be assessed within the framework of a budget deficit.