Budgeting in an Academic Library: A Lively Lunch Discussion

Are you always seeking to improve budgeting in your academic library? Are you fascinated by the challenge of predicting costs for subscriptions? I went on an "Academic Library Budgeting Roadshow," and had discussions with peers at seven other institutions. In this session, I will present a summary of my findings, then pose the same questions to the group. We'll discuss everything from the budget process and timeline, to allocating funds, to predicting subscription costs, to what you do if you go over or under budget, to flexibility, to deposit accounts, to Zero-Based Budgeting, to the biggest challenges we each face. Let's share our collective wisdom and brainstorm ideas for best practices in a world of tight budgets, new services, merging vendors, unpredictable cost increases, and rapidly changing purchase and delivery models.