In the past 18 months the dollar has slipped more than 40 percent against the Japanese yen and several major European currencies. The resulting price increases, on top of those owing to inflation, are tearing large holes in library acquisition budgets.
The situation has become "one of the greatest concerns of our member libraries," said Jaia Barrett, federal relations officer of the Association of Research Libraries in Washington.
The cost of a full subscription to Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, which is published by the Dutch firm Elsevier, has risen from $2,698 last year to $3,540, according to Chuck Hamaker, assistant director for collection development at Louisiana State University. Applied Catalysis, also published by Elsevier, costs $916 this year compared with $608 a year ago.
"Any academic library is feeling [the budgetary crunch] to some extent, but the larger the library and the more extensive its collection and its emphasis on ...
