Survey of Academic Library Leadership: Outlook for Materials Expenditures, 2020-21

This report looks closely at the impact of the COVD-19 epidemic on academic library spending plans for books, eBooks, online databases, academic journals, and audio-visual resources. For overall materials expenditures, and for each of these specific categories, the report contrasts estimated spending in the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 academic years. The estimates were drawn from a survey of the spending plans of 60 academic libraries in the United States. Data in the report is broken out by size and type of higher education institution as well as by tuition level and for public and private institutions, among other variables.Survey respondents also discuss in open ended questions their views on how use of open access resources will be impacted by the pandemic, and the extent to which it might accelerate the use of online vs. print resources. The study is an ideal resource for strategic planners in academic libraries and publishing/information providers seeking to answer questions such as: How much will spending on academic journals change vs, spending on online databases? To what extent will spending on print and eBooks be impacted? What kind of libraries will be cutting back the most of print books? Or journals? Are any areas of materials spending expected to grow in this difficult environment? Will demand collapse for any particular information vehicle in certain types of colleges?