Price trends for the major operating expenditures of the Purdue University Libraries are examined. Four years of price data on books and serials purchased for various academic disciplines are presented. Price trend data are also presented for other library expenditures including salaries, wages, equipment, telephone, and supplies. It is concluded…

The steps involved in tailoring a periodical and monograph price index to a university library are examined, as are the difficulties involved in applying a simple methodology such as a price index when the data base has not been organized to play an active role in the decision-making process. The following topics are addressed: the shifting of…

To assist the budgeting process at the Stanford University Libraries a study was undertaken to determine the extent to which the cost of obtaining scholarly publications was increasing and the degree to which the volume of scholarly publications grows annually, affecting the number of documents which the library must purchase to ensure adequate…

It is found that recent funding levels in Texas for faculty salaries and the purchase of books and other library materials have been drastically impaired by inflation. As a result, it is suggested that substantial increases in legislative appropriations will be required to prevent higher education from losing further ground. Faculty members have…