Here at Reading University Library, I go through an annual routine of
trying to put a financial value of the Library's contents for the
University's Insurance Officer (fire and theft cover).
The methodology of this exercise always seems a bit crude to me and
this year I thought I would seek advice from other libraries to see
if there was a better way of doing the job.
The bulk of our estimate is made up by the book/periodical stock;
other items (IT, shelving, furniture etc) whilst significent, are
small in comparison.
Currently, we calculate the number of books and periodicals in stock
and multiply the figures by the average cost of a book and periodical
volume. Apart from the difficulty of calculating the number of books
and periodicals in stock, the average cost of a book and periodical
volume is a somewhat crude measure (eg it does not allow for stock
purchased back in the mists of time, or rare books and special
collections).
How do other libraries tackle this problem? Please get in touch if
you do things differently (which might be a better way of achieving a
more realisitic value of contents).
Many thanks in anticipation...
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Ian Burn, The Library, The University of Reading, Whiteknights,
Reading RG6 6AE, Great Britain.
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
tel: +44 0118 9318775
fax: +44 0118 9316636
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