Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries:

Transcription

1 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: A Research Information Network report based on SCONUL library statistics September

2 This report is available at or further hard copies can be ordered via SCONUL holds the database right to the underlying data used to produce this report.

3 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Contents 1. Introduction 4 2. Key findings Overall library expenditure Expenditure on information provision Expenditure on staffing Comparisons between the UK and the US 7 3. Method 8 4. Overall library expenditure 1 5. Expenditure on information provision The balance between books and serials Print and electronic serials Printed books and e-books Expenditure on staffing Staff numbers Make-up of staff complement Comparisons between the UK and the US 24 Annex A: Supporting data tables 27 3

4 1 Introduction 4

5 Introduction The last decade has been a period of unprecedented change for university libraries. The rapid growth in numbers of students and staff across the higher education sector has been accompanied by the move to a substantially-digital environment, with some fundamental changes in how libraries and their users operate. Further change is on the way, with unpredictable implications for students, academic staff, and for libraries. As they have responded to new developments over the past decade, and changed their operations, most university libraries have seen continued growth in their budgets in real terms. The next few years are going to be much more difficult in financial terms. Libraries therefore face a period in which they will have to cope with continued rapid, perhaps transformational, change, accompanied by reductions in their budgets. In that context, this briefing paper looks at how the financial position of libraries in the higher education sector has changed over the period between 1999 and 29 (the latest year for which statistics are available). It is based on an analysis of data collected by SCONUL, and also draws some comparisons with the US. For some twenty years SCONUL has collected annual figures for a wide range of activities and costs amongst its members in UK higher education. SCONUL data are available in annual volumes from academic year onwards. Overall, this briefing presents a picture in which library expenditure has been rising in real terms, but not as fast as expenditure and activity in the HE sector as a whole. So libraries face some real challenges as they prepare for a more difficult financial climate, with real and substantial cuts in expenditure.

6 2 Key findings

7 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Key findings 2.1 Overall library expenditure Library expenditure has increased in real terms, especially in -member libraries. But the proportion of total institutional expenditure devoted to libraries has fallen significantly in all parts of the sector. 2.2 Expenditure on information provision Expenditure on information provision has increased among all groups, but particularly members. It accounts for just over a third of all library expenditure, with no significant changes between 1999 and 29 for most groups, although pre-1992 universities show a modest growth. The balance between expenditure on books and serials has changed significantly. Expenditure on books has fallen in real terms, and in 29 represented an average of 8.4% of library expenditure. Expenditure on serials has risen sharply in real terms and in 28 represented between 2% and 25% of total library expenditure among members and other pre-1992 universities, but only around 12% of expenditure at post institutions. Expenditure on print-only serials has fallen in real terms since 21, and by 29 accounted for only 22% of total serial expenditure across the sector. At the same time, expenditure on serials in electronic format has increased almost seven-fold, while expenditure on combined electronic/print formats rose rapidly until 24, at which point it began to level off. Expenditure on printed books has fallen and e-book expenditure has increased rapidly from a low base. But the move to e-books is still in its early stages, and print remains the overwhelmingly dominant format of books in libraries. 2.3 Expenditure on staffing Expenditure on staff has increased in real terms but has been relatively static as a proportion of overall library expenditure. Staff numbers have remained relatively static across the ten year period as a whole, although members saw an increase to 24, followed by a decline. Proportions of professional library staff have remained stable, but numbers of ancillary staff have fallen. 2.4 Comparisons between the UK and the US Comparison of UK and US statistics suggests that expenditure on information provision and on staffing rose rather more slowly in real terms in the US than in the UK. The proportions of total library expenditure devoted to information provision and to staffing remained broadly similar in the two countries. 7

8 3 Method 8

9 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Method The data relating to libraries in the UK higher education sector are taken from the annual surveys conducted by the Society of College, National and University Libraries 1 (SCONUL). Annual data cover the year starting on 1 August and ending on 31 July. For ease of presentation, each annual tranche of data is presented in this report against the final year of the period. Thus, data relating to the period between 1 August 1998 and 31 July 1999 is presented as data for SCONUL arranges the data into four groups of higher education libraries, as well as the combined total for all SCONUL members in the HE sector: members (that is, the university library members of Research Libraries UK) Other pre-1992 universities universities (that is, the libraries of universities designated as such after the Further and Higher Education Act 1992) Other HE colleges members in the HE sector (this group includes all institutions from the previous four groups, plus a small number of libraries otherwise uncategorised, most notably the Open University). It is important to note that these groupings are not fixed over the ten years under consideration. The first two groups ( members and other pre-1992 universities) were reasonably stable in membership over the ten year period. This was not the case, however, with the HE colleges and the post-1992 universities groups; for in the tables produced by SCONUL, colleges which achieved university status at various points over the ten-year period were moved from the colleges to the post-1992 university group to reflect that change in status. In order to reduce the impact of these changes, we have aggregated data for the post universities and the other HE colleges into a single dataset, entitled post (Accessed 2 August 21) institutions. If this had not been done, the impact of some of the larger HE colleges moving into the post-1992 universities group would have severely distorted the data. Additionally, all financial data is presented as an indexed average per institution in each group (i.e. each annual value has been divided by the number of institutions in the group that year). This should minimise the impact of missing returns from individual institutions in a particular year. US data was taken from the biennial Academic Library Survey, carried out by the 2 National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES). The data is presented as graphs for easy viewing of trends. Supporting data tables can be found at Appendix A at the back of this document. Each set of financial figures is presented in two ways: 1. As a proportion of overall expenditure or of a larger set of expenditure: for example, electronic serial expenditure presented as a proportion of overall serial expenditure. This allows the reader to see how different groups of institutions have prioritised spending within their budgets over the ten year period. 2. Indexed against a base year, usually This allows readers to see the rate of change of expenditure in different institutional groups, though it does not permit comparison of absolute expenditure between groups. In order to show levels of expenditure in real terms and to allow for the effects of inflation, the GDP deflator the key measure used by the UK Government to calculate general inflation in the 3 UK economy has been applied to the figures on which these indices are based. The equivalent US GDP deflator has been applied to the US figures (Accessed 2 August 21) 3 HM Treasury, last updated 12 July 21 (Accessed 18 August 21 from 4 OECD (Accessed 2 August 21 from 9

10 4 Overall library expenditure The decade from 1999 was one of increases in real terms in library expenditure across the sector. For the members, the rise was particularly significant, at nearly 48% in real terms. For both pre-1992 university libraries and all post-1992 institutional libraries the rise was more modest, and indeed the pre-1992 university libraries experienced a decline between 24 and 26, before returning to the upward trend. Increases in library expenditure need to be set in the context, however, of rapid expansion in the HE sector overall, with rising numbers of students, staff, and research activity. As Chart 2 shows, this expansion in student numbers has been matched by an expansion in spending, with the overall expenditure per student remaining reasonably steady across each category of university, with only members showing a significant uplift. Across the sector, total expenditure of universities and colleges rose by 6%, and for member institutions by nearly 8%. Hence, as shown in chart 3, in all groups, library expenditure has decreased as a proportion of overall institutional expenditure in all groups, with a particularly sharp fall from 3.1% to 2.1% among libraries. institutional libraries have managed to secure a larger proportion of total institutional budget than the other groups over the entire period. 1

11 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Overall library expenditure Chart 1: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on libraires Expenditure (1999=1 for each data series) Chart 3: Library expenditure as a percentage of overall institutional expenditure Percentage Chart 2: Real terms library expenditure per FTE student Expenditure per student ( ; 1999=base year) Key conclusion 1 Library expenditure has increased in real terms, especially in -member libraries. But the proportion of total institutional expenditure devoted to libraries has fallen significantly in all parts of the sector

12 5 Expenditure on information provision 12

13 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Expenditure on information provision The provision of information resources of all kinds accounts for the largest proportion of library expenditure after staffing. Expenditure rose in real terms between 1999 and 29 by just over 5% among members. The increases have been more modest in the other pre-1992 universities and the post-1992 institutions, with rises of 37% and 2% respectively. Information provision accounts for just over a third of library expenditure across the sector, though there are significant variations from that mean in individual institutions. Chart 5 shows that the proportion has fluctuated across all groups over the ten-year period, with no clear pattern of growth or decline emerging. Chart 4: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on information provision Expenditure (1999=1 for each data series) Chart 5: Information provision expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure Percentage Key conclusion Expenditure on information provision, while increasing in real terms for all groups, has remained relatively steady as a proportion of all library expenditure. It accounts for just over a third of all library expenditure, with no significant changes between 1999 and

14 Expenditure on information provision Chart 6: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on books The balance between books and serials The balance of expenditure between books and serials has changed significantly over the past decade. Expenditure on books fluctuated in the years immediately after 1999, but since 26 it has fallen in real terms across all parts of the sector. The decline is particularly sharp in the post-1992 institutions, but much less so among members. Other pre-1992 universities were initially resilient, but have witnessed a fall in recent years which is roughly in line with the post-1992 institutions. The proportion of overall library expenditure accounted for by books has fallen across all groups. It now stands at 8.4% for the sector as a whole, and ranges from just over 7% for members to 9.6% for the post-1992 institutions. Real terms expenditure on serials, on the other hand, has increased sharply among members and pre-1992 universities by 74% and 64% respectively over the ten year period. The increase, although still evident, is less sharp among post-1992 institutions, standing at 4%. Expenditure on serials has also increased as a percentage of overall library expenditure for all groups, with the sharpest rise among pre-1992 universities, followed by members. Among those two groups it now accounts for between a fifth and a quarter of total library expenditure. These changes are the result in large part of the Big Deals introduced by many publishers of scholarly journals, providing access to a wide range of journals in electronic form at a discounted price. Such deals have dramatically increased the number of titles available in individual universities, and have changed fundamentally the expectations of staff and students. They also involve, however, a contract of several years duration, with an annual price increase. Librarians thus find that increasing proportions of their budgets are tied up in big deals, with an inevitable impact upon other budgets, including those earmarked for buying books. Expenditure (1999=1 for each data series) Chart 7: Book expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure Percentage

15 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Chart 8: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on serials 2 18 Expenditure (1999=1 for each data series) Key conclusion 3 The balance between expenditure on books and serials has changed significantly. Expenditure on books has fallen in real terms, and in 28 represented an average of 9% of library expenditure. Expenditure on serials has risen sharply in real terms and in 28 represented between 2% and 25% of total library expenditure among members and other pre-1992 universities, but only around 12% of expenditure for post-1992 universities and HE colleges Chart 9: Serials expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure 3 25 Percentage

16 Expenditure on information provision Chart 1: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on print serials Print and electronic serials The SCONUL statistics do not begin to differentiate between print and electronic serials until 21. Since then, however, it is clear that the shift to online e-journals and to big deals has brought a significant change in the balance of expenditure between print and electronic serials. Expenditure on print serials has fallen in real terms by 54% across the sector, although by only 44% among members. In other pre-1992 universities, the fall has been over 7%. As a result, the proportion of total serial expenditure accounted for by print journals has fallen too, from 66% to 22% across the sector as a whole. The corollary, of course, is that expenditure on electronic serials has increased both in real terms and as a percentage of overall serial expenditure. The rise in expenditure has been particularly dramatic among members (87%) and other pre-1992 universities (879%). The less vertiginous rise of 223% in post-1992 institutions may be due to the number of member institutions specialising in the creative and performing arts, where journal literature is less dominant than in other disciplinary areas. Across the sector as a whole, electronic serials account for 49% of total serials expenditure. Many subscriptions, however, provide for both print and electronic access, and the picture here is more complex. Expenditure on combined electronic/print subscriptions increased in all groups between 21 and 24, since when it has fluctuated. It now accounts for just under 3% of all serials expenditure across the sector, with the lowest proportion (27%) among members. Key conclusion 4 Expenditure on print-only serials has fallen in real terms since 21, and by 29 accounted for only 22% of total serial expenditure across the sector. At the same time, expenditure on serials in electronic format has increased almost seven-fold, while expenditure on combined electronic/print formats grew until 24, at which point it ceased to show any overall growth or decline. Expenditure (21=1 for each data series) Chart 11: Print serial expenditure as a proportion of overall serial expenditure Percentage

17 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Chart 12: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on electronic serials 12 1 Chart 14: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on print / electronic serials 35 3 Expenditure (21=1 for each data series) Expenditure (21=1 for each data series) Chart 13: Electronic serial expenditure as a percentage of overall serial expenditure Chart 15: Print / electronic serial expenditure as a percentage of overall serial expenditure Percentage Percentage

18 Expenditure on information provision Chart 16: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on print books Printed books and e-books As we have already noted (Section 5.1), the aggregate of expenditure on printed and e-books has fallen in real terms and as a proportion of total library expenditure. Here we look separately at the different trends in expenditure on printed and e-books since 24 (when SCONUL first disaggregated data about books in the two formats). Between 24 and 29, expenditure on print books fell in real terms by 13% across the sector. The various groups fluctuated around this average by only very small amounts, with members decreasing the least at 11%, and other pre-1992 universities decreasing the most at 15%. In 29, print accounted for 88% of overall book expenditure, with relatively little difference between the institutional groups. For e-books, conversely, expenditure across all groups has grown rapidly by five or six times - albeit from a low base. Nevertheless, in 29, e-books still accounted for only between 1% and 12% of overall book expenditure. Print remains the overwhelmingly dominant format for books in libraries. Key conclusion 5 Expenditure on printed books has fallen and e-book expenditure has increased rapidly from a low base. But the move to e-books is still in its early stages, and print remains the overwhelmingly dominant format of books in libraries. Expenditure (24=1 for each data series) Chart 17: Print books expenditure as a percentage of overall book expenditure Percentage

19 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Chart 18: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on e-books 7 6 Expenditure (24=1 for each data series) Chart 19: E-book expenditure as a percentage of overall book expenditure 1 8 Percentage

20 6 Expenditure on staffing 2

21 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Expenditure on staffing Staffing accounts for around half of expenditure in libraries across the sector as a whole. Expenditure increased over the ten year period by 31% across the sector, with the biggest increase (38%) among members. The rise was much smaller for other pre-1992 universities, at just 11%. Expenditure on staff as a percentage of overall library expenditure tends to be higher among the post-1992 institutions, but has remained relatively flat among all groups: the rise in staff costs has evidently been in line with increases in other parts of library budgets. Chart 2: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on staff Chart 21: Staff expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure 6 5 Percentage Expenditure (1999=1 for each data series) Key conclusion Expenditure on staff has increased in real terms but has been relatively static as a proportion of overall library expenditure

22 Expenditure on staffing 6.1 Staff numbers members have the largest staff complements: three to four times larger than other universities on average. Between 1999 and 27 they also saw a significant rise in staff numbers, although this has since begun to decline. Elsewhere, staff numbers have fallen, despite the increase in expenditure in real terms noted above: the implication is that on average salaries have risen faster than inflation as measured by the GDP deflator. Chart 22: Number of posts paid for by library budget per institution Make-up of staff complement Professional posts account for around a third of the total staff complement. Across all groups, the proportion remained stable between 1999 and 29. However, among members the actual number of professional and other library staff grew rapidly until 27, at which point they began to decline. In other groups, numbers of other library staff have fluctuated. Ancillary staff numbers, however, have fallen across the sector as a whole, with a particularly sharp decline in all groups up to 21. This may be associated with outsourcing of security and other services. Posts per institution Chart 23: Staff numbers per institution at universities Staff numbers per institution Key conclusion 7 Staff numbers have risen among members, but have fallen elsewhere in the sector Professional posts Externally-funded posts Ancillary posts Other library posts 22

23 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Chart 24: Staff numbers per institution at other pre-1992 universities 4 35 Staff numbers per institution Chart 26: Staff numbers per institution at all SCONUL members Professional posts Externally-funded posts Ancillary posts Other library posts Staff numbers per institution Chart 25: Staff numbers per institution at post-1992 institutions Professional posts Externally-funded posts Ancillary posts Other library posts Staff numbers per institution Key conclusion 8 Proportions of professional library staff have remained stable, but numbers of ancillary staff have fallen Professional posts Externally-funded posts Ancillary posts Other library posts 23

24 7 Comparisons between the UK and the US 24

25 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Comparisons between the UK and the US Chart 28: Expenditure on information provision as percentage of overall expenditure in US and UK higher education libraries 5 Comparisons between the UK and the US should be treated with caution, since the ecology of higher education and libraries differs significantly between the two countries, and there are also some differences in how library statistics are gathered and organised. Nevertheless, with those caveats in mind, comparisons between the pictures revealed by the SCONUL statistics and those gathered by the US National Centre for Education Statistics are instructive. The statistics suggest that in the US, as in the UK, library expenditure both for information provision and for staffing rose in real terms between 1998 and 28, but more slowly in the US than in the UK. Moreover, the proportions of total library expenditure devoted to information provision and to staffing remained very close in the two countries, with the US maintaining a slightly higher proportion on information provision. Percentage of expenditure US 28 UK Chart 27: Indexed real terms expenditure on information provision in US and UK higher education libraries Expenditure (1998=1 for each data series) US 28 UK Chart 29: Indexed real terms expenditure on staff in US and UK higher education libraries Expenditure (1998=1 for each data series) US 28 UK 25

26 Comparisons between the UK and the US Chart 3: Expenditure on staffing as a percentage of overall expenditure in US and UK higher education libraries 6 Percentage of expenditure US UK Key conclusion 9 Comparison of UK and US statistics suggests that expenditure on information provision and on staffing rose rather more slowly in real terms in the US than in the UK. The proportions of total library expenditure devoted to information provision and to staffing remained broadly similar in the two countries. 26

27 Annex A: Supporting data tables 27

28 Annex A: Supporting data tables Table 1: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on libraires Table 3: Library expenditure as a percentage of overall institutional expenditure Table 2: Real terms library expenditure per FTE student Table 4: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on information provision

29 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Table 5: Information provision expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure Table 7: Book expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure Table 6: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on books Table 8: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on serials

30 Annex A: Supporting data tables Table 9: Serials expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure Table 11: Print serial expenditure as a proportion of overall serial expenditure Table 1: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on print serials Table 12: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on electronic serials

31 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Table 13: Electronic serial expenditure as a percentage of overall serial expenditure Table 14: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on print / electronic serials Table 15: Print / electronic serial expenditure as a percentage of overall serial expenditure Table 16: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on print books

32 Annex A: Supporting data tables Table 17: Print books expenditure as a percentage of overall book expenditure Table 18: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on e-books Table 19: E-book expenditure as a percentage of overall book expenditure Table 2: Indexed real terms expenditure per institution on staff Table 21: Staff expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure

33 Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries: Table 22: Number of posts paid for by library budget per institution Table 23: Staff numbers per institution at universities Year Professional posts Other library posts Ancillary posts Externallyfunded posts Table 24: Staff numbers per institution at other pre-1992 universities Year Professional posts Other library posts Ancillary posts Table 25: Staff numbers per institution at post-1992 institutions Externallyfunded posts Year Professional posts Other library posts Ancillary posts Externallyfunded posts

34 Annex A: Supporting data tables Table 26: Staff numbers per institution at all SCONUL members Year Professional posts Other library posts Ancillary posts Table 27: Indexed real terms expenditure on information provision in US and UK higher education libraries Year US UK Externallyfunded posts Table 28: Expenditure on information provision as percentage of overall expenditure in US and UK higher education libraries Year US UK Table 29: Indexed real terms expenditure on staff in US and UK higher education libraries Year US UK Table 3: Expenditure on staffing as a percentage of overall expenditure in US and UK higher education libraries Year US UK

35 About SCONUL Introduction SCONUL promotes excellence in library services in higher education and national libraries across the UK and Ireland. All universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland are SCONUL members: so too are many of the UK s colleges of higher education. Also members are the major national libraries both sides of the Irish Sea. Aims For the benefit of our libraries and their users we aim: to promote the sharing and development of good practice to influence policy makers and encourage debate to raise the profile of higher education and national libraries History SCONUL was founded in 195 (as the Standing Conference of National and University Libraries). In 1994 it merged with COPOL, the Council of Polytechnic Librarians: at that time the British polytechnics were reconstituted as universities. In 21 SCONUL changed its name to the Society of College, National and University Libraries, having welcomed colleges of higher education into membership. SCONUL 12 Euston Street London NW1 2HA UK Telephone +44 () Fax +44 () info@sconul.ac.uk

36 About the Research Information Network Who we are The Research Information Network has been established by the higher education funding councils, the research councils, and the national libraries in the UK. We investigate how efficient and effective the information services provided for the UK research community are, how they are changing, and how they might be improved for the future. We help to ensure that researchers in the UK benefit from worldleading information services, so that they can sustain their position as among the most successful and productive researchers in the world. How we communicate As an independent voice, we can create debates that lead to real change. We use our reports and other publications, events and workshops, blogs, networks and the media to communicate our ideas. All our publications are available on our website at What we work on We provide policy, guidance and support, focusing on the current environment in information research and looking at future trends. Our work focuses on five key themes: search and discovery, access and use of information services, scholarly communications, digital content and e-research, collaborative collection management and storage. Research Information Network 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB UK Telephone +44 () Fax +44 ()