Library Budget Cuts for History

The Dean of Libraries shared news of the budget cuts in library materials earlier in the month. General information on the scope of the cuts and a list of canceled journal subscriptions is available on the Libraries Budget Briefing page. Here is more specific information dealing with the cuts to the History library budget.

• This year's discretionary history book budget for Suzzallo Library has been cut 45% from last year (which was not a good year) and is $22,000. Compared to an average year, I will be ordering approximately 500 fewer books.
  

• This year's discretionary history book budget for Odegaard Library has been cut 37% from last year and is now $6,000.

• 59 unique journals/monographic series were cancelled; an additional 45 print journals went online only (in order to save some money). More than half of the cancelled items were non-English titles (26 German, 9 Spanish, 2 French, 2 Italian).

• On the more positive side, history still benefits from the English language book approval plan (books that automatically come in from university presses that meet certain specific subject and price criteria). Approximately 400 books came in last fiscal year via this plan.

In order to work within this much smaller budget I will no longer be able to 1) purchase non-English language books unless requested by history faculty and graduate students and 2) purchase duplicates of books held by UW Tacoma or UW Bothell.

So how can you help?

• Let University Administration know that a robust research library is essential for your research and teaching.
• Donate review copies of books. If we can't find a home for them here we will pass them on to other libraries.
• Contribute to the two existing library endowments for history material -- Professor Max Savelle American Colonial History Endowed Library Fund and Professor W. Stull Holt Military History Endowment

Please email me at mudrock@uw.edu with any comments and questions.