The Monday Muse is a new experiment we’re trying at Libraries Interact. Although comments are very welcome on all of our posts, on the Monday Muse, the comments are the purpose of the post. The plan is that every other Monday, we’ll host a discussion on some topic of interest to Australian libraries.
Today’s topic is the global financial crisis and libraries. Please add your thoughts on this by commenting below.
The current global financial crisis is easily the biggest economic upheaval since librarians have been blogging. Library bloggers in North America have started talking about this subject – usually referring to it as the recession – but in the tradition of Libraries Interact, we want know what’s happening in Australia.
- How is the global financial crisis (GFC) impacting on your library? Does 2009 threaten budget cuts or even redundancies?
- Are there any library sectors which seem more vulnerable than others to the economic downturn? Are there sectors which are more busy or stressed? Are there any libraries which thrive in recession conditions?
- How do these changes seem to be affecting the library job market?
- Does the current downturn make it easier or more difficult to implement new technologies in libraries? Or does it have no effect whatsoever?
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April 6, 2009 at 07:56
I think that special libraries are currently the most vulnerable of all the library sectors when it comes to the destructive impact of the GFC. Speaking of my own situation at one of the larger law firms in the country, we are battening down the hatches. We are already on a hiring and salary freeze. We know that the library’s subscription budget is going to be cut significantly. It’s not going to be a fun year to be dealing with our vendors – or probably for them to be dealing with us. The current silver lining is that although some particular areas of the firm may be unusually quiet, the reference desk is still very busy, which makes it less likely that redundancies will happen in the library. Another good thing: some big law firms have a certain inertia and conservatism when it comes to implementing new technologies, but the GFC is proving to be stronger than this inertia, and so for the first time, technologies such as wikis are seriously being considered.
April 6, 2009 at 08:28
Public libraries are impacted differently. Our purchasing power will be reduced, unless the Aussie dollar holds up well in the global economy. As governments feel the pinch, so will our special grants money and time will only tell how our annual budget will be impacted as we come up to our new financial year.
On the other hand, our libraries are already busier than ever, school holidays not withstanding. Our door stats and loans are up as people come and borrow from us and use our wifi and free internet access instead of having to pay for their own.
Experience has shown that in times of economic pressure, public library use increases and we are seeing that already. Fortunately it has also shown that when things get better, use tends to plateau, rather than going back to previous levels.
So for now, its all hands on deck and working harder and more importantly smarter, to deal with the increased use and potentially reduced resources.
April 7, 2009 at 13:58
Speaking from a vendor perspective, we’re expecting a tricky year and certainly comments we’ve had from some of our customers points to the fact that there’s less money in the budget for database access. As part of the continuing conversation between libraries and vendors, ICOLC put out a statement listing the likely scenarios for library funding in the short to long term. As Michelle points out, in times of financial depression, library and educational institutions experience a growth in usage yet at the same time their resources are being cut back.
April 7, 2009 at 16:19
I’m rather cynical when it comes to libraries at the moment. Perhaps the GFC will make libraries take open source software more seriously as the budget tightens.
It is after all a viable alternative that is often over looked.
Perhaps the horizons will expand to include other non vendor supplied items. Anyone care to build their own multitouch surface computer?
April 8, 2009 at 07:15
From an academic library perspective our acquisitions budget is definitely affected. Enrolments are up, too, and the library at MPOW has never been busier, in terms of bums on seats.
I don’t know if the GFC will make it easier or more difficult to implement new technologies at MPOW. We already use some (for our blog, instant messaging) but in other areas we rely on what the university has licensed. Anonymous, I don’t think it’s a matter of overlooking OS software, more a matter of whether or not libraries have the technical knowhow to implement and in some cases ensure that the OS solutions will work with the commercial products…
April 10, 2009 at 15:08
Anonymous – Open Source is an option if you have the staff to customise and implement, which not all libraries are lucky enough to have. But perhaps this will encourage libraries to be creative in a different way, and pool their expertise to make it an option for more libraries.
May 25, 2009 at 09:47
Some special libraries have actually been downsized and outsourced recently. Whether this is due to the GFC ( I can’t help thinking of Roald Dahl’s BFG!), in our case it began before that, but economic reasons have been cited. It is hard to keep hopeful that some may revive and rise from the ashes, but we certainly have to all be more creative and look at different ways of meeting client’s needs. As far as the job market goes at present, it is a very difficult time to be seeking and finding work.