Steady-State Academic Libraries: Retrenchment Solution?

Abstract

Although retrenchment in Canadian academic libraries was seen as a passing phenomenon in the mid-1970's, in recent years it has become an accepted long-term mode of operation. According to Cuts for Academic Libraries (1986), Canadian university library budgets are under continued pressure after years of austerity. The Canadian Association of University Teachers (1987) warns that constant dollar expenditures between 1971 and 1984 have dropped 22.8% and acquisitions have dropped 29.5% per full-time equivalent student. Downs (1977) says that the good times of the 1960's were the anomaly and that retrenchment is merely a return to the status quo. According to Cochrane (1986) financial restraint in Canadian universities will continue for the rest of this century. In seeking long-term solutions to problems of retrenchment in larger Canadian academic libraries, Denis and Auster at the University of Toronto have been investigating the management of retrenchment in larger Canadian academic libraries. Denis (1985) describes their work as one in which they are attempting to establish theoretical frameworks for decision-making in Canadian academic libraries in a retrenchment environment. This author's research has been directed at retrenchment solutions in smaller Canadian universities. Nitecki (1984) proposes a positive rather than negative and passive attitude toward austerity, resulting in a search for practical solutions to economic retrenchment in smaller academic'libraries. He (1984) states that in smaller academic libraries the steady-state or no growth collection development policy has merit. The intent of this paper is to investigate this type of library collection, where what is added equals what is removed, as a possible solution.