ULC Annual Report 1996-97

Background on the University's Library System

The General Library System (GLS) includes Memorial, College, Steenbock, University Archives, and 11 other member libraries. The collection budget for Wendt Engineering Library is also under GLS. There are three independent professional libraries: Health Sciences, Law, and Engineering. There are also 24 special purpose libraries. In accordance with an agreement established between the University of Wisconsin and the State Historical Society in 1954, the State Historical Society Library is the library of record for American history for our campus and the UW System. Although it does not receive its base budget through the university, it receives substantial annual support from campus. There are also numerous small collections and reading rooms not subsumed under any of the above categories.

Future Issues

ULC will continue to focus its attentions in the future on the issues of managing library collections at a time of severe budgetary constraint, the balance between monographs and serials in our collections, the fund-raising environment for our libraries, faculty borrowing privileges, user input into the selection of library materials, the speed of inter-library loan, the selection of new software for the Electronic Library, and intellectual property issues as they relate to libraries.

Last modified July 7, 1998