ABSTRACT
Research into the growth of research library collections in the United States has indicated that they tend to double in size every 20 to 30 years, by average annual increments of 80,000 volumes. The effects of economic decline upon publicly funded institutions, coupled with growing competition from other recreational media or information services compel library management to adopt yet a third strategy, namely a “marketing orientation.” The costs of books and journals, particularly the latter, have increased dramatically, and at a rate significantly greater than the average annual increase in library funding or the Consumer Price Index. During the years between 1977 and 1987, the proportion of ARL library funding that was earmarked for books and journals increased from 30% to 32%, whereas costs of staffing the libraries declined from 58% to 52% of budget.
