Unanswered Questions

How can Berkeley remain the no. 1 public university when its library keeps dropping in national rankings? 

While Berkeley continues to reign as best public university in the world in the U.S. News & World Report’s Rankings, its position has fallen year after year in the less known but more prestigious Association of Research Library Statistics. 

Why is the Library being systematically defunded? 

The Library’s long-term space plan purports that the primary reason for space consolidation and shrinking of services is because the Library doesn’t have funds to maintain these spaces and services. But there’s a more fundamental question that’s not been answered. Why is the Library being defunded, particularly in a time of unprecedented budget surplus in California, increased state investment in the UC, a successful $6 billion capital campaign and another year where UCB is ranked the #1 public university in the U.S.?

Why is the Library not a campus priority? 

The allocation of funding is a reflection of priorities. The 2013 Report of the Commission on the Future of the UC Berkeley Library describes the absolutely central role that the Library plays in supporting research, teaching, and learning at Berkeley, claiming “The Library is the heart and circulatory system of our research and instructional mission…” (p.7). The report calls for major financial reinvestment in the Library, stating “there should be no higher priority for campus investment, and no greater responsibility for the Campus Administration and the Academic Senate than the effective stewardship of the library” (p.7). Why have these campus funding priorities not been implemented and sustained?

How has the Library spent its funds? 

Where is the full and transparent accounting of how Library funds were spent over the past 3–5 years which has led it to the point where it needs to consolidate and/or close libraries and repeatedly make draconian cuts to collections?