University of Michigan-Flint

This is a follow-up report on the state of the collection since the conspectus report was completed in February of 1999. It covers the collection as a whole, rather than updating the individual divisions of the collection. The

Growth in the monographs collection has been in line with previous years, i.e. inadequate due to budget constraints. Growth in the periodicals collection has been very good. A summary of the strength of the divisions of the collection is available

In the conspectus report of 1999, I recommended an acquisitions goal of 10% of academic titles annually (without lowering funding for the few departments that already meet or exceed that target). To increase our overall monographs acquisitions rate to 10% annually, we would have to roughly double the book budget, i.e. almost double our 5.3% acquisitions rate. It should be noted that this goal was devised before the master's degree in biology and doctorate in physical therapy were added. If anything, a target of 10% is too low.

Assuming approximately 69,000 titles are made available annually, we would have to increase our yearly acquisitions by about 3240 titles. At an average cost of $56.30 per title, with a 14% vendor discount, an additional $156,874.00 would have to be added to the monographs budget.

The average cost per title ordered by the Thompson Library was $47.00 for 2000/01. This is only slightly less than the North American average for 1999 (see Table 2, below), minus the 14% vendor discount ($56.30 less 14% = $48.42). Moreover, it is possible that librarians and departmental faculty "picked the low-hanging fruit," and avoided ordering more expensive titles. If this is so, we can expect that the average price per title will increase as more titles are ordered.

Periodicals

The Thompson Librarys periodicals collection has improved dramatically since 1999. With respect to periodicals alone, ten divisions have increased their rating; none have decreased. This improvement has been the result of vastly expanded access to online databases.

Since the completion of the conspectus, the Thompson Library has added Wiley InterScience, Blackwells Synergy, ScienceDirect, Kluwer Online, IEEE Xplore, and JSTOR, and the Cochrane Library.

Table 3 below illustrates the growth of the periodicals collection. In my analysis this year, I counted separately titles available in print only, online only, and those in print and online. Subscriptions had to be current to count. This omits JSTOR, which, if counted, would strengthen the periodicals collection even more.

Table 4 below lists the major databases relevant to each division. Not included are most of the full-text databases added recently (Kluwer, ScienceDirect, etc.), which have the effect of strengthening numerous divisions.

Internet Resources

• Nearly 11,000 netLibrary titles
• Several electronic periodical indexes with substantial amounts of full text
• Various electronic reference resources
• Various freely accessible websites

The first two items are discussed above. The last two items, while not insignificant, are difficult to measure as additions to the collection for several reasons, some of which are noted in the 1999 conspectus report. Additionally, the best resources added tend to duplicate electronically what is already in the print collection (e.g. Encyclopedia Britannica and the CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics). Electronic reference sources and websites will undoubtedly be a growing part of the Thompson Library's collection, but do not yet enjoy the key role played by online periodical indexes.

Additionally, the Thompson Library has greatly expanded off-campus access to electronic resources by adding a proxy server, and has implemented an electronic reserves system (ERes)

Accreditation Report, 1999

In its report, the visiting team from the North-Central Association noted the substantial progress the Thompson Library made after the NCA's previous accreditation visit.

The Frances Wilson Thompson Library has made remarkable progress in the past ten years. The 1989 NCA review expressed concerns about library services with regard to space, accessibility, and the depth of the collection. In 1989, the library was located in temporary headquarters and books were stored across the street from that location. In 1999, the library is now located in a new three-story building. This facility provides much improved accessibility, with an on-line catalog, on-line circulation, online indexes, and several thousand full-text newspapers and journals available on and off-campus to University of Michigan-Flint users. An expanded interlibrary loan system links the university to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and other resources. The library has borrowing privileges at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the library has developed partnerships with [other] local academic libraries . According to surveys, the users of the library indicate a very high level of satisfaction with the library staff. The library has a $2 million acquisition endowment, which generates about $94,000 in spendable interest each year. In addition, the annual acquisitions budget is about $400,000, which represents about 3 percent of the university's education and general budget. The library has made remarkable improvements in its collection, including a number of electronic connections ABI/Inform, ProQuest, Wilson-Select, Lexis-Nexis, and Science Direct. The library staff has done a very thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the library collection as measured by WLN Conspectus, and thus should be commended for their analysis and for their efforts to bring the library's collection to adequate strength for the various programs. As a result of this analysis, the staff has taken a good measure of the library's strengths and weaknesses, and is working to remedy the areas of greatest need. In sum, the University of Michigan-Flint has shown remarkable improvement in library services as compared to 1989, certainly meeting the criteria and admirably addressing the concerns of the previous visit. Continuing challenges for the University of Michigan-Flint in the area of library services would include what some would view as marginal base funding, and a collection that is barely adequate to support some programs as reflected in national comparisons.

Submitted by Paul Streby, December, 2002
Revised April, 2003