[Publib] Budget cuts - hours vs. materials

[Philip Cheney]

It appears that your question should be stated 
"Shall we cut acquisitions in order to increase hours of operation by hiring
additional personnel at certain branches?"
 
Philip Cheney
South Carolina



Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:35:04 -0700From: MTiar at washoecounty.usTo: publib at webjunction.orgSubject: [Publib] Budget cuts - hours vs. materials






Hello out there,
 
I’m a new subscriber to the list, having just joined to post this question (although I was a subscriber many years ago).  In these tough economic times, we’re having to make some difficult choices.  We are trying to find any data, anecdotal or otherwise, to support or refute a decision one way or another.   We have been searching the literature but not doing too well – it’s sort of a tough concept to put into search terms, due both to such common words and the many synonyms of them that appear in the journals. 
 
Put briefly, is it better to cut hours/days of operation or acquisitions?
 
Or, the way it was phrased to us to look into:
 
Washoe County Library has been asked to consider cutting deeply into its Library Materials budget in order to fill personnel vacancies, which might allow some library branches to expand public hours. If you cut deeply into your materials budget, did your circulation and/or visitor statistics decrease?  By maintaining or increasing public hours, despite cutting your materials budget, did your circulation and/or visitor statistics increase?
 
Many thanks for any information you can share.
 
Marc Tiar
Washoe County Library
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