How Libraries are Funded: Transparency Issues in Student Tuition and Fees Among ARL Libraries

Abstract

This article explores how ARL libraries affiliated with institutions of higher education receive funding, or not, through library related fees collected as part of tuition and fees payments. The authors from the University of XXXX (XXXX) wanted to examine how their library fee funding compared with their peers. They were motivated to research this topic due to the combined impacts of COVID-19, the serials crisis, and recent budget reductions. Data was collected from publicly available tuition and fees data on university websites. Analysis revealed that student library fees at XXXX are significantly lower than other ARL libraries, and that there is a lack of transparency in how libraries are funded through tuition related library fees.