Dallas Rabenstein Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. UC Libraries Budget Reduction Proposal, FY2012

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1 April 14, 2011 MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: RE: Dallas Rabenstein Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ruth M. Jackson University Librarian UC Libraries Budget Reduction Proposal, FY2012 Attached please find the Budget Reduction Proposal for the University Libraries, FY2012. In preparing the proposal, we have sought to develop funding distribution strategies to protect the library services that are most essential to the academic and research community: 1. Access to high demand databases and electronic resources 2. Interlibrary Loan Services 3. Reference and Information Services essential to faculty research and undergraduate education 4. Library Instruction 5. Maintaining reasonable but reduced library hours, including commitment to continue 24/7 access during final exam periods in either the Rivera or Orbach Library 6. Continuation of Course Reserve Services to support undergraduate education 7. To the extent fiscally possible, continuing to maintain and expand the Libraries technology base heavily used by undergraduate students and that serves as the basis for the campus and the Libraries digital transition One of the significant concerns that we have is the magnitude of budget reductions over the past two years ($1,175,000 in FY2011 and $1,185,000 in FY2012) and their serious impact on the Libraries ability to continue to augment the Collections budget beyond the central allocation provided by UCR. This is the result of the need for the Libraries to eliminate 19.4 open lines during the last budget reduction. For the first time in recent history, we find ourselves in the position of having to reduce the base Collections Budget to assist the Libraries in meeting its target reduction of 8.36% or $1,185,000. This has been a very difficult decision for us but there were few if any other choices without severely damaging other components of library services essential to and valued highly by the University community.

2 I also call to your attention the continuing decline during the past several years of the UCR Libraries comparative profile rankings among research university peers. This decline is occurring at the same time that UCR seeks to pursue AAU Status. If the decline in the library s fiscal base continues unabated, the University s ability to retain its status as a top 40 research institution may also be imperiled in consideration of the heavy reliance of faculty and graduate students on the research infrastructure to support their publication and proposal submission activities. We urge and hope that the university will be able to do all that it can to work with us to reverse the impacts of the decline. It is time, we believe, for UCR to give serious consideration to implementing a student library and technology fee, as well as to formally committing to other possible sources for deriving permanent funding to supplement and stabilize the materials budget and stop the decline. We look forward to the opportunity to review with you our budget report and projections and to receiving further input and guidance from you as to their content and feasibility. RLMJ:kkb Attachment

3 UCR Libraries UCR Libraries Budget Reduction Proposal FY2012 Prepared by: Ruth M. Jackson, Ph.D. University Librarian April 14, 2011

4 BUDGET REDUCTION PROPOSAL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE LIBRARIES FY 2012 Target Reduction: $1,185,000 (8.36%) Outlined below is the budget reduction proposal for the University libraries, FY2012. Our reduction has been established at 8.36 % in line with other administrative units of the campus. Within the proposal, we have searched for all viable means to protect and maintain the most essential services that the Libraries provide to the academic and research community. Priority has been given by the Libraries to maintaining the following services that are central and essential to the support of faculty research and publication, instruction, graduate education, and provision of services to the undergraduate student population: 1. Maintaining access to high demand databases and scholarly electronic resources in support of faculty research/publication and graduate education 2. Maintaining access to high use databases that support undergraduate students. 3. Maintaining the current level of support for interlibrary loan services 4. Maintaining goals of excellence in the provision of reference and information services essential to support the research infrastructure at UCR 5. Support for Library Instruction 6. Continuation of Course Reserve Services to support undergraduate education 7. Maintaining reasonable but reduced library hours, including commitment to continuing 24/7 access during final exam periods in either the Rivera or Orbach Library. 8. To the extent fiscally possible, continuing to maintain and expand the technology base heavily used by undergraduate students and that serve as the basis of the Libraries and campus digital transition. It should be recognized within this funding framework that the magnitude of budget reductions which have consecutively occurred within the past two fiscal years ($1,179,000 in FY2011 and $1,185,000 in FY 2012) has severely impacted the Libraries ability to continue to annually augment the collections budget through reallocation of funding. Because of the impact of the FY2010 budget reduction, resulting in the elimination of 19.4 open or unfilled positions, we have been forced for the first time in recent library history to turn to the base acquisitions budget to meet our target. This does not bode well for enhancing support for faculty research and publication nor for the expansion of graduate education as envisioned in the UCR strategic plan. As alluded to in the cover memo for the proposal, following an impressive climb during in national status, the UCR Libraries have precipitously declined during the past 4 years in their comparative profile and ranking among other major research libraries and peer institutions. This decline, precipitated by stagnant and reduced budgets, is occurring at the same time that UCR is developing strategic planning activities to achieve status as an AAU institution. If the decline continues, the university s ability to pursue its goal of gaining status as a top 25 research institution may also be imperiled given the close correlation to adequacy of access to research resources and faculty productivity in both publication and grant activity. We, therefore, encourage the university to do whatever it can within its fiscal ability to reverse the negative impacts of the budget reduction, particularly on the collections budget at the earliest

5 opportunity. It is time we believe, that UCR gives serious consideration to various funding strategies to increase the Libraries revenue streams. 2 Within the realities of the budget reduction framework, we have made every effort to develop a viable plan and one which we believe will maintain basic library services and, hopefully, also allow us the opportunity to continue investments in strategic and qualitative services especially in those areas that are most important to the success of both the instruction and research programs at UCR. One of our goals is to also continue to strengthen and invest in, as funding allows, those collections and services that bring national and world class distinction to UCR such as the Eaton Science Fiction Collection, the Entomology collection, and the newly acquired WRCA research collection transferred from Berkeley. We, also, will continue to be fully engaged in initiatives that lead the digital transition of our campus and that will contribute to the University s commitment to diversity and excellence. The proposed budget framework outlined below delineates the Libraries budget and strategic goals that we believe to be central to maintaining excellence at UCR. PROPOSED BUDGET FRAMEWORK TO MEET THE MANDATED 8.36% REDUCTION, FY2012 $14,181,527 Total Permanent Budget Allocation, FY2011-1,185,689 Less 8.36% Reduction, FY2012 $12,995,838 Balance Remaining AREAS TARGETED TO BE REDUCED TO MEET THE 8.36% REDUCTION IN PERMANENT FUNDING Budget Category Budget FY2011 Projected Budget FY2012 Budget Reduction Amount % Change Personnel Salaries $8,937,895 $8,548,396 $389, % Library Operations 895, ,931 39, % Collections 3,672,434 3,371, , % Funding Reallocated to Collections from Bridge Funding and Personnel Savings 455,600 (Bridge Funding) 73,012* ,600 (Bridge Funding) % Reserve Fund 147, , % N/A Mandated Annual Give Back from Personnel Funds 123,500** 73, Totals $14,181,527 $12,995,838 $1,185, % *Reallocated to Collections from Personnel Dollars Restored to the Libraries from START **Already included in Personnel total

6 3 BUDGET DISTRIBUTION NARRATIVE Proposed Personnel Budget, FY2012: $8,548,396 Budget Reduction: At least $389,000 To meet the target reduction of 8.36%, the Libraries will reduce the personnel budget by approximately $389,499-$400,000. This will involve the following specific actions: Temporarily cancel the national search for a Head of the Rivera Reference Department until the budget is improved. Annual Savings: $121,071 (including fringes) Postpone the search for a Digital Initiatives Director or Coordinator until the budget is improved. Annual Savings: $93,000 (including fringes) Layoff at least 2-4 positions or salary equivalents at various levels of the organization unless additional retirements occur. Annual Savings: $222,428 (including fringes) Close both the Science and Rivera libraries on Saturday; close the Science Library at 11:00 P.M. rather than 12 midnight Monday-Thursdays; continue to close the Rivera Library at 10:00 P.M. Monday-Thursday: Annual Savings: $17,459 (student wages to be funneled through permanent personnel salary dollars) Open a formal Voluntary Work Reduction Program and Retirement Program for the Libraries involving the employee gaining approval from immediate supervisor as allowed via Union guidelines (Savings Unknown) As background information concerning reduction of hours for the Science and Rivera libraries, an analysis of use patterns within the student body indicates that student use of library facilities on the weekends tends to be light in both of the libraries with no more than an average of 78 users on Saturdays in the Rivera Library and 95 users in the Orbach Science Library. Slightly heavier use occurs in both libraries on Sundays as students prepare for their classes (Orbach Science Library at an average of 155 and the Rivera Library at an average of 88 users on Sundays). The reduction of hours will not save the University or the Libraries significant sums of funding. However, a reduction in hours will allow the opportunity to implement redeployment of library personnel for the provision of services to students during peak hours of library use, Monday-Thursday, when more than 4,300 clientele per day use library facilities. The reduction in hours may also support the University in making its point of the critical need for additional funding from state sources in a way that is least harmful to our primary clientele, UCR students and faculty. The University should recognize, however, that there may be student protests. The Libraries will continue to be fully committed to maintaining 24/7 access during all final exam periods for either the Science and Rivera library in collaboration with the ASUCR, irrespective of economic conditions. Library and Budget Goals 1. To Maintain staffing levels within budget constraints sufficient to support the critical role of the library as an information commons/intellectual center in delivering support for instruction and faculty research. The goal will also be to maintain hours and services that represent heaviest periods of library use. 2. To continue sufficient staffing levels within budget constraints to maintain the library as a place in support of undergraduate education and student success.

7 4 3. To continue staffing levels required to support efficient library operations and functions that are critical to the provision of reference and information and access to scholarly information. 4. To maintain Library Instruction programs within the major disciplines and learning communities established by the colleges and schools. 5. To continue staffing levels adequate to provide responsive and efficient interlibrary loan services to support access and delivery to faculty and graduate students materials not owned by UCR. This is a particularly important goal in a declining budget environment. 6. To maintain staffing levels essential to support the technology base of the Libraries and to continue implementing the Libraries digital transition. For these purposes, technology staff will generally be exempt from layoff consideration. UCR 2020 STRATEGIC GOALS SUPPORTED: ACCESS AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE It is further noted that we do not believe that we can effectively reduce far beyond the budget proposal and current levels of staffing (106) without severe damage to services that support students and faculty. A comparative analysis of the UCR Libraries current student/staff ratio with those of the university s AAU peer institutions and the other libraries of the UC campuses is shown in Table I and II below to illustrate this point. In 2010, UCR ranked near the bottom of both its AAU peers and the UC campus libraries for this statistic. TABLE I AAU PEER INSTITUTIONS COMPARATIVE STUDENT/LIBRARY STAFF RATIOS, FY AAU Institutions FTE Enrollment Professional and Support Staff Ratio of Students/Staff University of Kansas **(60) 27, :1 University of Oregon (95) 20, :1 UC Santa Barbara (86) 22, :1 SUNY-Buffalo (NY) (67) 24, :1 Texas A&M University (23) 47, :1 UC Riverside (107) 18, :1 Iowa State University (59) 24, :1 University of Missouri (90) 25, :1 SUNY-Stony Brook (NY) (101) 19, :1

8 5 TABLE II UC CAMPUS LIBRARIES COMPARATIVE STUDENT/LIBRARY STAFF RATIOS FY DATA UC Libraries Enrollment (Headcount) Professional and Support Staff FTE Ratio of Students/Staff UC San Diego 26, :1 UC Berkeley 35, :1 UC Los Angeles 39, :1 UC Santa Barbara 21, :1 UC Irvine 27, :1 UC Riverside 20, :1 UC Davis 32, :1 Proposed Organizational Strategies to Address the Impact of the Reduction 1. Consider closing the service desk in the Education Services area of the Rivera Library to support redeployment of personnel. Consider moving the Textbook Depository Collection and the Educational Media collection to the main floor of Rivera in support of personnel redeployments. 2. Consider closing the service desk in the Periodicals and Microforms Area of the Rivera Library and transfer all the remaining print serials and microform services to the main floor of Rivera in support of personnel redeployment. 3. Retention of positions critical to implementation of Next Generation Technical Services (NGTS), a UC- wide planning initiative that will lay the pathway for further collaboration between the 10 campuses related to the streamlining of acquisitions functions, shared collections, and processing of scholarly resources. 4. Give consideration in the long term to the feasibility of merging the Multimedia and Music libraries to support consolidation of services. Consultation with the Department of Music and the Dean of CHASS will be required. Proposed Library Operations Budget, FY2012: $855,931 Budget Reduction: $39,655 Significant cuts have already occurred to the library operations budget during the budget reductions implemented in FY2004, FY2009, and FY2010. Internal reallocation of operations funds has also been used by the Libraries as one of its strategies to augment the library collections budget. As a

9 6 result, the central allocation for the operations budget has been reduced and/or reallocated from a sum of $1.2 million in FY2004 to a sum of $895,586 in FY2011, at the same time that demands on library services and their operations have continued to grow almost exponentially. Therefore, there is little flexibility in FY2012 for further reductions to the operations budget above the projected level of $39,655. Library Budget Goals 1. Maintain a downsized library operation budget but one that is adequate to support the purchase of supplies and materials required for collections processing; library-wide access to bibliographic utilities; maintenance of comfortable library furnishings to support undergraduate education; purchase of library equipment; provision of access to campus telecommunications estimated to increase significantly during the current fiscal year; payment of maintenance and licensing fees for the online catalog and the library information system; necessary repairs and alterations; repair and maintenance of library equipment; library facilities maintenance to ensure a safe and healthy environment that will support the key functions and services required to maintain the Libraries as a facility and place. 2. Maintaining a technology base sufficient to support learning, studying, and the research needs of the undergraduate student population. 3. Maintenance of an adequate fiscal base to provide ILL and document delivery services that support faculty research and graduate education. UCR 2020 STRATEGIC GOALS SUPPORTED: ACCESS Projected Library Collections Budget: $3,371,499 Budget Reduction: $300,935 We have grave concerns about the impact of the current budget reduction upon the adequacy of the fiscal base of the acquisitions budget to maintain the quality and scope of research resources required by a research university the size of UCR. We recommend that our concerns be addressed by the University at the earliest feasible date, given the potential impact upon the faculty and the goals of UCR as a research university. The issues of preparing for AAU membership and maintaining membership in the Association of Research Libraries are also at stake. As previously alluded to in the cover memo for the report, the absorption of consecutive major budget reductions ($2,364,000) within a short period of two years has seriously impeded the ability of the Libraries to continue to augment the centrally allocated base acquisitions budget ($3,672,434) from various other funding sources, including non-permanent bridge funds, on an annual basis. With the elimination of 19.4 open library provision in FY2010 and in the absence of this significant funding cushion, we have no choice in FY2012 but to reduce the base acquisitions budget in order that the Libraries can meet their mandated target and avoid severely damaging other library services essential to and valued highly by the University community. For the past 8 years, the Libraries have used funds from open lines, together with non-permanent bridge funds, to consistently augment the centrally allocated base acquisitions budget ($3,672,434) to bring the budget to the level of approximately $5 million annually. With the FY2010 budget reduction and the targets that have been set for cuts in FY2012, neither open library provisions nor bridge funding remain available as

10 7 an augmentation source in the current budget climate. Table III below graphically demonstrates this point of the mixture of funding sources that have been used to rebuild and maintain the acquisitions budget to an acceptable level annually since FY2003 as well as the impact of the removal of the availability of these resources as cushion funds. We are projecting that the base acquisition budget must be reduced by $300,935 (8.19%) to enable the Libraries to meet their target reduction of $1,185,000 in FY20012 and to continue critical library services. Because of these special circumstances, we request that consideration be given to reducing the budget reduction target for the Libraries and that the University finds a means to restore and increase the base acquisitions budget with permanent funding. We fear the long term consequences for UCR if this does not occur. Table III FIVE YEAR ANALYSIS OF SOURCES OF FUNDING TO SUPPLEMENT THE COLLECTIONS BUDGET, BUDGET CATEGORY FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 Centrally Allocated Base Acquisitions Budget $3,468,864 $3,586,864 $3,672,434 $3,672,434 $3,672,434 Centrally Allocated Temporary Bridge Funding Funding from Open Library Positions and Other Fiscal Sources Used to Augment the Base Acquisitions Budget 650, , , , , , , , , ,995 Total Budget $4,881,282 $5,104,832 $4,242,728 $4,279,600 $4,312,029

11 8 Among the most difficult challenges for the Libraries in the current budget climate is keeping pace with the larger UC campuses in maintaining co-investments in system-wide electronic resources licensed by CDL on behalf of the UC Libraries, charged to our campus at an 8% cost share. Although the UC Collection Development Committee (CDC) has been charged for the past two years by the Council of University Librarians to reduce the cost of UC investments in digital resources by 15%, the reduction will not fully resolve the long-term funding challenges for UCR nor for the other smaller campuses. Continuing to maintain balance between the high cost of electronic resources and databases many of which primarily support STM fields and meeting the needs for less expensive monographic materials that primarily support the humanities and social sciences disciplines and some areas of the sciences, also, presents significant fiscal challenges. We have made every effort to ensure that key components of the Libraries collections will be protected and that other alternative strategies will be developed to ameliorate the effects of the reduction. The plan for the expenditure schedule for the acquisitions budget is outlined in Table IV below. Table IV PLAN FOR DISTRIBUTION OF ACQUISITIONS FUNDING TO SUPPORT COLLECTION PRIORITIES AND LIBRARY GOALS Budget Difference Type of Material FY2011 FY2012 in FY2012 Electronic Resources $2,420,000 $2,400,000 $20,000 Print Monographs 754, , ,422 Media 20,000 20, Music Resources 5,000 5, Standing Order, Print Serials, and Blanket Orders 800, , ,501 Other (Including covering Inflation) 312, , ,607 Totals $4,312,029 $3,371,499 $940,530 Library Budget Goals 1. Within the framework of budget restrictions, the first priority for the Libraries will be to maintain campus-wide access to high demand databases and electronic resources across all major disciplines supported by UCR and that are critical to faculty research and publication and

12 9 graduate education. Continuing to provide broad access to the world s output of scholarly communication in digital format is essential to both academic and research programs that reside at UCR and as well as the goals of the 2020 strategic plan. In accordance with this priority, the expenditure level for digital resources has been targeted to remain at the approximate allocation of the past fiscal year as shown in Table II above. 2. Continue to provide access to electronic resources critical to and heavily used by the undergraduate student population. 3. Maintain strong fiscal support for interlibrary loan services to ensure that materials that are not available at UCR can be efficiently located and delivered to faculty, graduate students, and to the extent applicable, the undergraduate student population. 4. Continue library support for course reserves for the benefit of instruction and the undergraduate student population. 5. Maintain the monographs budget at a minimal level of $400,000 to support research in the social sciences and humanities disciplines, and as appropriate, selected disciplines in the sciences. 6. Continue evaluation of print serials, standing orders, and blankets to reduce the expenditures for these materials over a period of two years by $379,000. UCR 2020 STRATEGIC GOALS SUPPORTED: ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND ENGAGEMENT SHAPING OUR WORLD Proposed Organizational Considerations to Deflect the Impact of the Reduction. 1. Continue to work with the CDL, the UCCDC, and the 10 UC campus libraries to develop additional strategies to reduce costs for access to digital sources. 2. Consider merging Interlibrary Loan Services with the Collection Development Department to facilitate buy or borrow collection decisions as an additional strategy to ensure that the information needs of faculty and graduate students are effectively met for research materials that are not available on site. 3 Explore feasibility of developing links to the full-text holdings of the HathiTrust to offset reductions in the monographs budget and to reduce the impact on ILL of the reduction in monographs purchases. 4. Consider loading the bibliographic holdings of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) in the UCR online catalog to further facilitate efficiencies for interlibrary loan services and faculty and graduate students in the discovery and location of unique research materials. 5. Conduct a Demand Driven Acquisition (DDA) pilot program with our major book vendors to determine if the Libraries and its faculty and student clientele may benefit from a just in time approach to collection development. The pilot will run for one year and the data results will be evaluated to provide guidance for planning the future of collection development programs at UCR and collaboratively across UC.

13 10 OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS We offer the following strategic opportunities to address the impact of the budget deficit and to further enhance the services of the Libraries for the benefit of UCR. These strategies will require special investments. 1. Restore and Increase the Base Library Acquisitions Budget with Permanent Funding to a Minimal Level of $4 Million for the Next Two Years. To be Re-evaluated in FY2014 Cost: $628,501-$700,000 in permanent funding annually. Value: Improving support for the research needs of the humanities and social sciences disciplines. Maintaining support for UCR s continued participation in UC s system-wide coinvestments for access to digital resources on a level appropriate with other UC campuses. This is critical to the future of growing faculty research, publication, and grant generation productivity as well as maintaining graduate education on a national competitive level and with the sister UC campuses. Category New Electronic resources and high-demand databases as UC co-investments Amount $150,000 Restore the monographs budget to support the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines $400,000 Defray cost of downsizing the serials standing and blanket order budget over a 2-year period $100,000 Cover inflation and cost overruns for the materials budget $50,000

14 11 AAU Peer Institutions Materials Expenditures Personnel Expenditures Operations Expenditures Total Expenditures Texas A&M University University of Kansas $ 18,443,037 $ 14,343,558 $ 7,338,194 $ 40,192,993 $ 9,536,565 $ 10,778,599 $ 2,187,517 $ 22,590,331 SUNY-Buffalo (NY) $ 8,214,014 $ 10,467,039 $ 1,338,010 $ 20,062,539 University of Missouri $ 9,605,577 $ 7,020,430 $ 1,253,673 $ 17,934,976 Iowa State University $ 9,078,625 $ 7,224,437 $ 752,038 $ 17,132,300 University of Oregon $ 6,143,178 $ 8,229,072 $ 1,579,451 $ 16,022,100 UC Santa Barbara $ 4,807,044 $ 7,728,160 $ 2,223,139 $ 14,851,101 SUNY-Stony Brook (NY) $ 6,634,380 $ 6,288,060 $ 695,341 $ 13,640,247 UC Riverside $ 4,983,504 $ 6,245,210 $ 1,050,842 $ 12,319, Hiring a Director of Development to Lead and Support Library Fundraising The initiative has been in the works for six years and has not yet been implemented. Funding has been placed by the Libraries in the budget for that purpose during FY2011. Cost: $60, ,000 annually including benefits Value: Expand the Libraries revenue streams beyond state supported funding. Formalize and expand the Libraries current fundraising program. In the current budget environment, recruiting and filling the position should be a very high priority. 4. Implementation of a Library and Technology Fee at UCR Pursue approval to implement a library and technology fee for students enrolled at UCR (flat or % of every tuition dollar). This initiative, if successful, would provide a lucrative revenue stream to

15 12 supplement centrally allocated funding to continue to maintain campus-wide access to digital resources and assist with maintaining a robust technology base within the Libraries. Access to wired and wireless technology is among the library services in highest demand among students and represents one of the most heavily used services that the Libraries provide. More than 4,000,000 transactions occur on the library information system annually. A prime use of the funding derived from a library and technology fee would be to make additional investments in e-resources and technology. Technology projects currently tabled due to lack of funding include the following: Expanding the number of user work stations and circulating laptops available to students. Establishing a multi-media commons to support student involvement in team based learning activities and assistance in developing multimedia projects and presentations for their classes. Expanding and equipping two (2) additional instructional labs in both Rivera and the Orbach Science libraries to accommodate the increase in undergraduate enrollment and the high demands being placed upon the Libraries to continue partnering in learning communities with the colleges and the schools. Currently the Libraries provide instruction to 2/3 of the undergraduate study body and growing. Expanding access to the suite of application software maintained in the banks of computers located in Information Commons that provide a means for students to move easily from laboratory and classroom to the library to complete their homework assignments. Expanding the capacity of the GIS lab in the Map area of the Science Library and access to GIS software. 5. Resolve On-Going Space Issues in the Rivera Library by Installation of Compact Shelving on the Basement Floor to Relieve Collection Overcrowding within the Humanities and the Social Sciences Current and Retrospective Research Collections Installation of compact shelving on the basement floor of the Rivera Library to resolve space issues in housing current and retrospective research collections that support the humanities and social sciences disciplines. This is a one-time capital investment which would buy the University five years of time to reassess requirements for library space and programs within the context of the goals of the UCR 2020 Strategic Plan and as the impacts of the digital transition continue to evolve. Cost: $2,000,000 Value: Retention and preservation of core current and retrospective humanities and social science collections within the impacted disciplines. 5. Recruiting and Hiring a Digital Initiatives Director or Coordinator Cost: $93,000 (including fringes) Value: Further accelerate the Libraries digital transition initiatives and projects; collaborate with UCR faculty and CDL to implement an e-science platform at UCR. Faculty/library collaboration in building e-science infrastructures is an emerging trend among research universities and is becoming a mandate for awarding faculty grant funding by several federal agencies. Opportunities may exist to partner with the College of Engineering and the Office of Sponsored Research as a pilot.

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