5.D.6 The institution provides sufficient financial support for library and information resources and services, and for their maintenance and security.
Over the past decade, budgetary support for the library has increased (sample of recent budget), particularly by growth of the book/materials budget. Expenditures for other library resources and services(magazines, online databases, library systems) have remained relatively constant, but cooperative arrangements, especially with the Mansfield Library of The University of Montana and with a statewide cooperative, have provided precipitous growth of our electronic resources and have provided technical support for our library cataloging and circulation systems for inventory control of materials.
In the college’s building expansion, which from planning to opening occupied the middle half of the decade, the college committed a significant portion of the expansion budget -- in space, aesthetic design, and furnishings --to a new library with physical prominence in the building. This improved space (an increase from 1,496 to 3,200 square feet) has significantly impacted the library’s ability to house and expand the collection and to provide services to the college community.
The library does not have a security system to detect book theft. However, as the small size of the collection allows for an annual inventory, we know that currently, theft of materials is negligible, averaging over the past 8 years a loss of 10 items per year by theft. Another 6 items per year were lost, on average, due to unreturned items that were checked out.
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Clearly, the institution works with a limited budget. However, support for the library should be greater than it is. This committee has suggested that we include fiction and self-help books in our collection to help foster life-long learning. This committee acknowleges that the library supports other areas of the college through its collections -- hard copies and virtual. We do exceptionally well with what budget we are allotted in the library. That competence, however, does not negate the need for more monetary support of the library. President Dennison has suggested that we increase the holdings -- this takes money, and the Director of the Library patiently puts an amount into the budge each year to support this goal, but the amount remains a long term enhancement. This year's budget has an additional $5,000 for fiction and other life-long learning book selections. This is an excellent start, and I sure hope this amount survives the budgeting process.
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