The Cadre -

27 October 1998

UPEI News 5

Continued from page 3 According to Lynne Murphy, University Librarian, the user fees are a result of major cuts to the university budget over the last two or three years.

Murphy adds that books and periodicals increase in price every year, quite drasti- cally in some cases. Many science journals have in- creased in price by as much as 1S percent. The decreased value of the Canadian dollar also impacts the library’s buy- ing power, as many of the journals and books held by the library are published in the United States.

These high costs are part of what Gordon describes as a worldwide problem. All uni- versities are experiencing ma- jor funding problems, but he sympathizes with everyone feeling the pinch.

ILL costs come out of the book/periodical budget, according to Ginny Kopachevski, ILL technician. She adds that the user fee only

recovers a small amount of this money.

“Either we stop buyin books, or we charge a oa fee,” says Murphy.

She also suggests that the addition of electronic databases has helped lessen the need for ILL’s. However, Murphy is quick ot oom out that any more cuts to the budget could compromise the effec- tiveness of the library.

Dr. Catherine Innes- Parker of the English Depart- ment goes one step further.

“Any cut compromises a library’s effectiveness,” she asserts.

Innes-Parker also ex- pressed her concern that the ILL charges will hinder under- graduates, particularly honours students. An honours thesis requires extensive, long term research. Depending on the topic, a student may have a considerable amount of ILL’s.

She is especially con- cerned about the potential to reduce the amount of current material in the library, forcing

Increasing fees at the UPEI library

students to rely on back issues which may be out of date.

Although professors may have material they can loan to students, to do so on a system- atic basis breaks copyright laws. According to Innes- Parker, these laws are in place for good reasons, but she is concerned that students will not have access to necessary information.

Most agree that educa- tion needs to be supported by the Federal government, and that the cuts to the ae are symptomatic of a larger fund- ing problem.

“The Federal govern- ment doesn’t fully understand the needs of universities,” re- marks Gordon.

Innes-Parker attests that if Prince Edward Island is go- ing to havea university, itneeds to be funded. The library is a community asset as well as university resource, she adds.

“Think about the advan- tages of a well-educated popu- lace,” she urges.

education?

INVITES UPEl TO VOICE THEIR OPINIONS

MACLEAN'S MAGAZINE INVITES UPEI TO VOICE THEIR OPINIONS

MacLean's Magazine is preparing its fourth annual guide to universities, and is seeking input on campuses’ strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, they are looking for answers to three questions:

1. Who are the strongest and most popular professors?

2. What is the hottest hang-out?

3. What are significant developments at UPEI?

E-mail your thoughts to <newspaper@upei.ca>

THE CADRE

The Cadre is seeking input on students’ opinions on the infamous MacLean's university guide. Specifically, we are looking for the following: 1. Do you think that the MacLean's guide is an accurate assessment of post-secondary

2. Why do you think that UPEI scores low on the rating annually? — , 3. Should administration be concerned about UPEI's representation in the magazine?

STUDENTS

STUDENTS

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