Library budgets – the results

My survey of library and LRC budgets closed on 14th March (well actually I’ve left it open, if you want to complete it!) and I’ve started to pull some headlines from the results.


The most striking feature is the wide variation – one large college spends less than a pound per student on library resources and at the other end of the scale, another (only slight larger by FTE) spends more than 28 times as much.


What you do with these figures is up to you. You could place your own budget somewhere on this scale and benchmark it against similar-sized colleges, which may give you a little ammunition, when arguing against a cut, or requesting additional funds (not an easy task I know).

Sample size
13 respondents – a bit disappointing, but the results are still interesting


Sectors
11 FE College respondents, 2 sixth forms


Budget size
Average budget (both sectors): £63,607
Average FTE: 3610
Average spend per FTE: £17.61
Smallest FE budget: £3,000 (460 FTE)
Largest FE budget: £238,500 (8,462 FTE)
Smallest spend per FTE: £0.85
Largest spend per FTE: £28.18

Click to expand table

What expenditure must be met from this budget?


Books, journals, e-journals and e-resources were common to most, IT resources, text books and curriculum materials, less likely to be funded from the library budget.


Increased or decreased?
Not surprisingly, 7 of the 13 libraries had faced a budget decrease, one by as much as 40%. 3 libraries had benefited from a 10% increase and one by 20%, in the last year.


Do you have the opportunity to discuss your budget with a senior manager?
Always: 10
Sometimes: 2
Never: 1


Didn’t get chance to complete the survey?
It’s still open to complete here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PGVRQ8R


If I get enough additional data, I’ll update the results.