SOUTHEAST'S KENT LIBRARY STACKS UP WELL IN STUDY WITH OVC UNIVERSITIES

For Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library, statistics tell a good story. The library compares favorably with other regional universities, particularly those in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), a study shows.

"From what the raw statistics tell you, it says that comparatively we do measure up very well," said James Zink, Kent Library director.

"Overall, when I look at it, I come away feeling very gratified by it," said Zink. "I think it indicates a good state of health."

The study was done this summer by Zink, based on information obtained from a national survey of college and university libraries. The data relates to the 1987-88 fiscal year, the latest year for which survey results are available, Zink said.

In the comparisons, Southeast ranked second among the nine OVC schools in terms of full-time-equivalent (FTE) librarians or professional staff (19), and third in terms of FTE total staff, including students (62).

Kent Library ranked first in the OVC comparison in terms of the number of people using the library per week (15,667) for the 1987-88 fiscal year.

Zink said the usage figure is calculated on the basis of a "typical week" and doesn't reflect an actual average.

Southeast's library ranked fourth in general circulation (130,040), third in salaries and wages ($808,396), and third in total operating expenditures ($1.64 million) as compared with the other OVC schools.

The study also compared Kent Library with 16 regional universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri.

In those comparisons, Southeast's library ranked sixth in terms of FTE librarians or professional staff, and eighth in terms of total staffing.

The library ranked third in terms of people in the library per week, ninth in general circulation, eighth in salaries and wages, and seventh in total operating expenditures.

The comparisons with Southeast included the OVC schools Eastern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Morehead State, University of Tennessee-Martin, Austin Peay State University, Tennessee State and Murray State.

The study also looked at library operations at Southwest Missouri State University, Western Kentucky, Western Illinois, Central Missouri State, Eastern Illinois, Arkansas State University, Northwest Missouri State and Northeast Missouri State.

Both Zink and university Provost Leslie Cochran said the comparisons illustrate the fact that the university has made a commitment to having a good library.

"The library has been held out as the primary item to get support (funding) in the last decade," said Cochran.

Even in recent years, the library has been spared the funding cuts experienced by other departments on campus, he said.

For example, Cochran said, the library's $2 million budget recently experienced only a $15,800 cut, compared with major budget cuts for other operations at Southeast.

Zink agreed that the library has fared well in terms of funding. "In these periods of budget problems and all, the library has had a priority kind of treatment within the institution."

Zink said the administration, and particularly Cochran, has been supportive of the library.

Cochran said it's important not to cut back on periodical and technical journal subscriptions. Without such journals, he said, "you lose the benefit of access to current knowledge."

Cochran said he felt the study showed that Southeast has done "exceedingly well" in terms of its library.

Zink said, "When you look at the overall profile there, it says that given the institution's budget and the kind of money that can be put into library support here, we are doing very well."