The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)

XII. Summary 201
Costs of the Library System. A final requirement for the system's
success, of course, is adequate funding. In order for the new approach
to be acceptable as a replacement for older methods, sufficient investment
must be made in the new system, over a sufficiently long period of time,
for it to be demonstrably better than what it replaces.
The estimated costs of specific recommendations mentioned in the
plan, in 1976 dollars and by category and year, are shown in Table 36.
Some of these costs, of course, would be offset by savings as compared
with conventional methods, particularly in staffing and in capital expenditures
for construction.
Total estimated library budgets, year by year, are shown in Table
37. The columns on the left are based on the assumption that the recommendations
of the plan will be adopted, and the columns on the right
assume that the present methods of operation will continue and staff will
be increased as in comparable research libraries.
Except for the one-time rise in the book acquisition category, most
of the increases in the budgets based on the plan are in two categories:
salaries and equipment costs associated with the automated projects, and
salaries associated with the establishment of the two regional centers
and processing materials into them. Investment in automation projects
is heaviest in the three years beginning in 1978/79, then declines until
1984/85 and 1985/86, when additional equipment will be needed. The major
impact of the regional centers on the operating budget begins in 1982/83,
when the centers must be staffed and bibliographic records must be made
for material being transferred to the new facilities. After 1980/81,
however, the total operating budget remains relatively stable at about
53 million dollars per year.
In contrast, the budgets which are based on present methods of
operation and staffing patterns show a continual rise in the cost of
salaries and associated supplies and equipment. Even if the book budget
is held to its present level, increases in staff will be needed in
order to service the growing collections, and if there were no staff
savings from the automation projects, continuing requests for additional
staff would be necessary. Assuming that present levels of service would
be maintained, then, the budget under present methods would be larger
than the budget recommended under the plan by fiscal year 1980/81, and