The Canadian Dollar Versus the Collection: How Canadian Academic Libraries are Coping

Through 2015 and into 2016, Canadian academic libraries’ collections budgets were severely strained due to the steady decline of the CAD/USD exchange rate. We will present results of a survey carried out to determine the impact of the falling exchange rate on collections development and the means by which libraries are coping with new budgetary pressures. Input and discussion will be sought from attendees on the larger issue of open access and changing the scholarly communication model.
Learning objectives:

• The current budgetary landscape of Canadian libraries
• The impact of the exchange rate on serials collections
• Review possible solutions to the problem of rising costs for scholarly communications
• Discuss open access and alternatives to the publishing oligopoly