Abstract
American research libraries are again entering a period of collection retrenchment. This retrenchment, similar to the one that occurred in the late '70s and early '80s, is caused principally by the radical losses in the dollar's value over the past two and a half years. The dollar today b u y s rough ly 56.6% fewer D u t c h guilders, 13.7% fewer British pounds, 56.8% fewer German marks, and 44.5% fewer French francs than it did in July 1984. For libraries that purchase 40-60% of their materials overseas, this change has been catastrophic. Reports of collection budget shortfalls in fiscal year 1986/87 are already beginning to be heard. Some range from $100,000 to $500,000. Particularly affected have been the serial budgets where the combination of expensive scientific serials and the dollar's downturn has been devastating. Describing problems caused by the dollar's weakness the University of California at San Diego Newsletter of March 1987 reports:
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