The UA library plans to cut book orders and journal subscriptions across the board by 16 percent over the next two years, a move intended to combat inflation and a lack of additional funding.
Librarians are in the process of determining which library materials will be missed the least, said Stephen Bosch, associate librarian. The cuts are necessary to avoid what librarians expect will become a $1.3 million deficit by 2006. The library's budget is about $9 million.
"Sixteen percent is going to be a big reduction," Bosch said. "We've done the easy stuff to keep our heads above water."
The impact now, he said, will be "noticeable, if not painful."
Four teams representing different areas of the library have begun working with faculty to discuss which materials may be targeted for the cut.
Bosch said the teams will draw up lists for potential elimination this summer, and faculty will have the chance to review the lists and respond in September. Cuts wouldn't be implemented until October and would probably happen in two parts.
"We're not a meat cleaver," said Doug Jones, a librarian. "We recognize appropriate differences."
Because the university hasn't provided the library with an increase in its base budget in two years as inflation for library materials has shot up, spending cuts at the library are shifting from trimming minor expenses such as bindery to eliminating new purchases of library materials.
"There's no more fluff to cut," Bosch said.
Bosch said the library is dealing with about 9 to 10 percent inflation per year. "If we have a set budget, after two to three years, things cost 20 to 30 percent more than when we started," he said.
In the next two years, librarians expect that 3,000 journals, 7,000 new books and $250,000 for electronic indexes will be absent from the library.
All areas ÷ science and engineering, fine arts, humanities and special collections, social sciences and undergraduate services ÷ will experience a 16 percent reduction.
President Peter Likins said the library is valued, but tough times mean the university can't fund all university areas as much as it would like to.
"In recent years, everybody gets cut. It's more a question of who gets cut less," he said. "This university has treated libraries and library materials as very high priorities."
Edella Schlager, an associate professor in the School of Public Administration and Policy, said the UA has a "great library" and that the cuts will be detrimental to the research and teaching mission of the university.
"It's a real problem because we're a research university and we teach our students to do research," she said.
Jesse Infeld, an economics and international studies senior, said he thinks the cuts are a bad sign for what's to come.
"The university is losing its academic standards, and this will only contribute to that," he said. "A library is a key component of the university. Cutting back is a huge mistake if you want to keep the university's standards up."
Infeld said he does a lot of research on game theory.
"Journals and new editions of books are really important. The more recent stuff we have out on that the better. It's such a new field," he said.
Anastasia Gorbunova, a psychology and music senior, said undergraduate education at the UA isn't challenging enough and the library serves as a haven for "those who actually are interested.
"The library is what the university is all about. It's about the universe and learning all you can about it."
In 2002, the library received a one-time increase of $750,000 to help deal with rising expenses. That amount turned into a base increase in the library's budget when the university responded to its request and continued to provide that much in following years.
There has been no base increase since then. Last year, the library got a one-time increase of $300,000, an amount librarians said doesn't help with spending on library materials.
"We can't pay ongoing costs with a one-time increase," Bosch said.
Likins said he doesn't know yet whether the library will receive a base increase or one-time increase this year, but he encourages the library to petition the university.
"The budget process is still unfolding," he said. "The finance committee meets every week, and we listen to everyone's requests."
Jones said the library presented budget problems to the finance committee in February.
Bosch said that despite the cuts, the UA is in "better shape than most research-based universities."
According to the Association of Research Libraries, the library is ranked No. 27 out of 123 large, research-based university libraries.