CARBONDALE - With an unchanging budget and rising costs, Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has had to sacrifice some journals.

David Carlson, dean of Library Affairs, said in the eight years he has been the dean there has been one increase to the library's base budget, and publishers have increased their prices between four and 10 percent.

To help cut back on costs, library staff has had to go through and cut about 900 journal subscriptions.

He said science journals took the biggest hit as many of those had to be cut because they are more expensive. The science cuts include $11,672 for an electronic subscription for the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry and $10,648 for an electronic subscription to Experimental Brain Research. He said in science researchers rely much more on journals than books.

Jay Means, dean of the College of Science, was unavailable for comment on the effect the cuts will have on the college.

The subscriptions include electronic and print journals. Carlson said they have about 2,000 journals in print. Ninety percent are online.

Because the information in books does not change as frequently as journals, Carlson said the library has been able to pay journal costs from the book budget.

"When you have that situation over a period of eight years, you run out of tricks," Carlson said.

While things have been tough for the library, they have been tough all over with the state owing the university about $124 million by the end of November forcing the university to scrimp and save just to make payroll. Despite the problems, Carlson said the university has recognized the library's importance.

"The university has been good in the eight years I've been here to protect the library's budget," Carlson said.

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

618-351-5804