NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 23 number 2 - Winter 2003

By Nancy Vaupel, Scholarly Communication and External Relations

Budget reductions, never welcome and often deeply traumatic, can help focus an entire community on what it values. Campuswide budget cuts at NC State, the result of an anticipated major state budget shortfall, were taken at the start of the 2002 summer semester. The cuts had an immediate and profound impact on the NCSU Libraries and its users, especially with the reduction of library hours. To counteract this, NC State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and Provost Stuart Cooper decided to shift funds as quickly as possible to the Libraries, reinstating the most valued of its lost services, a move that was highly lauded by the news media and university user community.

The restoration of Saturday hours and twenty-four-hour service involved NC State students, faculty, and administrators, as well as the local media. When the Libraries began to lay off some of its staff and all of its security guards and reduce its hours, many friends and champions of the library voiced their support of critical services. The media published articles telling the Libraries' story-focusing on how the Libraries has risen in just over ten years to be one of the top academic research libraries in the nation. Stories pointed out that the budget cuts were going to hurt the Libraries' reputation, standing, and services. Students made it clear that having their library open remained essential and pressed their point by staging a peaceful "read-in" at the D. H. Hill Library, led by NC State's Student Body President Michael Anthony. Chancellor Fox, who addressed NC State students in September, said, "As soon as we get a budget, it's our first priority to restore library hours." When a final budget was eventually released to the university, Chancellor Fox and Provost Cooper allocated additional money to the Libraries to support twenty-four-hour service.

The Libraries thanks the chancellor and provost for their support, NC State's students for expressing their concerns, the many faculty members who spoke generously on behalf of the Libraries, and the journalists of the university and local newspapers who followed the story and gathered opinion. As stated by Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Susan Nutter, "Restoration of these services comes at a particularly critical time for the NCSU Libraries. Research library use seems to be growing--a trend that's been observed nationwide. Our facilities are now more than 50 percent over capacity. Resuming Saturday and overnight hours helps ensure equitable access to our resources for all NC State students and faculty."