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

204 The University of California Libraries
would continue to grow larger as time went on. By the end of the period
in question, the cumulative difference would be over 45 million dollars
and still growing.
Table 38 indicates the capital expenditures required to house the
materials acquired during the span of the present plan (that is, for
the ten years from 1978/79 to 1987/88), as well as relieving current
overcrowding. As in Table 37, the columns on the left are based on the
assumption that the recommendations of the plan will be adopted, and the
right-hand column assumes that the present methods of operation will
continue. The calculations also assume:
• that new on-campus construction will have capacity for five
years' additional growth in holdings after occupancy; and
• that both regional facilities will be built in increments, with
the first increments having a capacity of 3 million volumes each and
subsequent increments 2 million each.
For these reasons, the totals differ from those in Table 34 on page
180, which is based on the unit costs of housing individual volumes.
As indicated in Table 38, the total cost of housing by present
methods during the ten years from 1978/79 to 1987/88 would be over 110
million dollars, or almost 50 million dollars more than the cost of the
recommendations in the plan. If staffing were allowed to grow according
to the pattern in other research libraries, the total cost of conventional
methods would be even greater: an estimated $131,000,000, or more
than double the cost of the recommendations. As with the operating
budget, there is clearly a justification for the steps proposed in the
economics of the situation, as well as in the desire for improved service.
Conclusion. The library plan, as indicated earlier, proposes a new
approach toward organization, operation and development of the University
libraries. By a system of differentiated responses on multiple levels,
it aims to provide a much greater range of resources than at present,
with better and quicker access to those resources for all users. With
the steps recommended at each level, with continuous planning and monitoring
of performance, and with adequate funding, it should be possible
for the system to deliver virtually all materials needed by its users,
and within the time span needed. If this can be achieved, the plan will