Additional economic demands have resulted from the growth of the University's academic programs and degree offerings and the need to provide access to a growing array of electronic information resources. Electronic resources and networked systems also offer an unprecedented opportunity to provide access to a vast array of information and research resources not owned by the University Libraries. Selectivity and response to specific needs have become the hallmarks of collection building in the 1990s. The desire to make available on-site all the information resources that might be useful to library users has been replaced by the more realistic approach of providing affordable collections locally and offering access to the wealth of books, journals, media, and other information resources owned by other libraries, offered by vendors, or available via the Internet. The University Libraries are challenged to find ways to balance the costs of traditional publishing with those for electronic publications and for access mechanisms that extend to users the widest possible range of information sources.
Bibliographers continually explore alternative means of satisfying user needs.
Allocations are adjusted annually to respond to cost inflation and to afford Albany's libraries the opportunity to embrace new information formats. Alternative access to infrequently used journals has been supported by making Empire Express and the Carl Reveal and ContentsFirst table of contents services available to all users over the campus network. Individual subject statements prepared by University at Albany Bibliographers describe the levels of collecting currently in effect for specific academic departments and schools. In addition to paper-based materials, acquisitions funds are used to obtain microforms, videos, numerical data sets, and other electronic media. New formats are continuously explored for their information value to the community.