Library budgets are complicated beasts combining unpredictable and predictable costs: fixed personnel costs, with shifting operational needs, join rapidly changing materials expenditures. Some expenditures are fixed while others leave room for flexibility if you know where to look. This program will discuss how to analyze the various components of a typical law library budget on an annual and prospective basis.
The program will also include a hypothetical annual budget conversation between a law school dean and her library director. The conversation will illustrate how the needs of the library interface with the overall financial challenges will include strategies for effectively resolving the competing interest. A panel of deans and librarians will further reflect upon the information shared and issues raised earlier in the first portion of the session.