Goal 4: Optimising use of available resources

Library budget 2002

The library was provided by the university with funds totalling $27,683,678 for recurrent expenditure for staff, collection acquisitions and operating costs.  Of this, $14,077,873 was for staffing (both ongoing and casual employees), $11,080,396 was for collection acquisitions and other materials in print, online and document delivery, and $2,525,409 was for operating costs. 

A four per cent Enterprise Bargaining increase was included in the staffing component.  Casual staffing remained at 2001 levels.  An increase of seven per cent was budgeted for books and materials.  Operating costs were pegged at 2001 levels wherever possible.

In 2002, the collections acquisition budget was comprised of a $9,644,424 general allocation and $1,154,200 Research Infrastructure Block Grant. Of this, 29.5 per cent was spent on monographs, 35.5 per cent on serials and 35 per cent on electronic resources (serials, databases, monographs).

Collection management

The Library added 41,548 new books and other physical resources, representing 29,098 titles, to the eight libraries of Monash University Library in Australia. These acquisitions support student learning and teaching and add depth to the research collection. There was a particular emphasis on updating standard reference resources, adding collected editions of standard authors, and scholarly collections of retrospective writings in newer areas of research such as women's studies.

Major acquisitions for the year include backsets of newspapers on microfilm:

• Il Globo 1959- 1994; 
• London Review of Books  1995-1997; 
• Guardian Weekly  1970-1980, 1995-1997;  
• Quinzaine Litteraire  1966-1984, 1995-1997;  
• Chronicle of Higher Education  1977-1979, 1984-1985, 1990-1991, 1993-2001;  
• New Straits Times  1997-2001;  
• Die Zeit  1970-1985, 1991-1997; 
• Sunday Times  1926-1958; 
• The Bulletin  1962-1969

Major microform collections acquired:

• Australia : colonial life and settlement : the Colonial Secretary's papers from the State Records Authority of New South Wales . Parts 1-3;
• China and the United States : from hostility to engagement 1960-1998 / ed. J.T. Richelson.  Chadwyck-Healey, 1999;
• Records of Iraq, 1914-1966 / ed. Alan Rush. Archive Editions, 2001; and
• Colonial discourses. Series 1 : women, travel and empire, 1660-1914 / Adam Mathew Publications, 1999.

Significant newly available electronic resources include:

• Web of Knowledge - Multidisciplinary indexes to cited references in scholarly publications (Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index);
• Wiley Interscience - includes the full text of over 300 scientific, technical, medical, and professional journals, plus selected reference works and Wiley print books online;
• Annual Reviews - 29 full text titles in the biological, physical and social sciences;
• Hein Online - Over 300 full text law journals including back sets;
• Meditext  and AGIS - provide indexing and full text articles for Australian medical and legal journals; and
• Emerald Library - marketing, management, human resources journals.

MONINFO (Corporate Services)

MONINFO, the commercial arm of the library, engaged with the broader community and delivered a range of services to alumni, corporate clients, business, government, schools, and individuals. The suite of services included: information research; document delivery; library membership; tours of the library; web maintenance; and, consultancy to a professional association on the creation of a virtual information centre. Promotional activities continued to attract new clients. MONINFO liaised closely with Monash International and the Alumni Office to facilitate the delivery of a quality service.

David Groenewegen, Digital Resources Librarian and Jill Wilson, Director Information Resources both take in Lewis Carroll's "Through the looking glass" - Ms Wilson online through the library's recently acquired NetLibrary e-books.