University libraries welcome boost for higher education sector

19 October, 2007

SCONUL, the membership body for UK and Irish higher education and national libraries, this week welcomed the UK Government's new spending plans and advised universities that library provision must 'keep pace'.

Last week's Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets out Government spending plans for the next three years, announced that higher education and adult skills will see a funding rise of an average two percent a year in real terms up to 2010/11.

Toby Bainton, Secretary of SCONUL said,

"The UK has world-class university libraries and it is vital for both students and academic staff that they are given the support they need. This month's Comprehensive Spending Review shows higher education remains a priority for Government and library provision must keep pace with the overall rate of investment in the sector.

To maintain our standard of excellence the costs on our libraries are significant. The price of library acquisitions always rises faster than inflation, and today's students demand ever longer library opening hours. Also library expertise in support of research is as necessary as the research itself. On top of this Universities are looking to their libraries to meet the challenge of curating vast amounts of digital data.

The Government clearly recognises the importance of research and research skills to the UK economy and this reinforces the economic, as well as the academic, value of our university libraries. Their buildings offer a unique sense of place - an area where students can learn, think around a subject and develop those new ideas so vital in a modern economy. Beyond their buildings libraries disseminate an indispensable flow of digital information direct to researchers' desktops."

The total funding settlement announced by the Treasury was that spending on Higher Education and adult skills would rise from £14.2 billion in 2007/08 to £16.4 billion in 2010/11.