Why is so much emphasis being placed on continuing commitments? Doesn the library buy a lot of books?
Journal subscriptions alone account for almost half of the Libraries’ materials budget. Electronic resource subscriptions account for just under 20% of the rest. With standing orders, these continuing commitments account for approximately 70% of the materials budget. While inflation rates vary from title to title, this portion of the budget has historically inflated at an annual rate of 8-10% a year. It is thus critical that continuing commitments be monitored closely and evaluated regularly as to the value they are providing to the campus community. Furthermore, rapid changes in the scholarly publishing marketplace demand that libraries be prepared to act.
