16
EXPENDITURE TRENDS 
 
Library material budgets have risen sharply in order to sustain serial expenditures.  Operating 
expenditures, including many automation expenditures, have doubled since 1986, but during the last five 
years have remained at relatively stable levels of investment—slightly more than $2 million for the 
typical ARL library.  The total salary expenditures median has increased only slightly over the past four 
years, indicative of the difficulties libraries are having in recruitment and the mechanisms they are trying 
to develop to compensate for the historically low salaries paid to their employees.  Monograph 
expenditures continue to increase, but at a much slower pace to accommodate the sharply increasing 
serial expenditures.  The annual consumer price index (CPI), included in Graph 4, provides a 
comparative reference for the increases in library expenditures. 
 
Table 4 
Expenditure Trends in ARL Libraries, 1986‐2005 
Median Values for Time‐Series Trends – Unadjusted dollar figures24 
 
Year  Library 
Materials 
Serial
Exp.
Monograph
Exp.
Total 
Salary
Operating
Exp.
Total 
 
CPI
(Libraries)  (105)  (101) (98) (104) (104) (105) 
     
1986 
$2,705,297  $1,475,825 $1,118,931 $4,011,436 $1,111,914 $8,361,092 
109.6
1987 
$3,058,479  $1,769,353 $1,060,754 $4,361,646 $1,180,167 $8,990,001 
113.6
1988 
$3,369,896  $1,942,350 $1,109,845 $4,618,335 $1,198,674 $9,557,623 
118.3
1989 
$3,577,405  $2,097,789 $1,093,858 $5,236,292 $1,364,558 $10,183,315 
124.0
1990 
$3,903,358  $2,289,075 $1,329,950 $5,469,333 $1,386,618 $11,241,022 
130.7
1991 
$4,064,344  $2,519,065 $1,396,566 $5,885,814 $1,445,735 $11,990,794 
136.2
1992 
$4,156,510  $2,610,837 $1,348,786 $6,050,222 $1,390,245 $12,249,150 
140.3
1993 
$4,316,674  $2,917,381 $1,284,116 $5,962,470 $1,561,122 $12,265,696 
144.5
1994 
$4,572,276  $2,892,898 $1,282,569 $6,047,803 $1,676,701 $12,767,348 
148.2
1995 
$4,715,203  $3,128,181 $1,365,046 $6,312,770 $1,853,586 $13,171,893 
152.4
1996 
$5,126,482  $3,384,928 $1,437,028 $6,664,021 $1,997,233 $13,870,378 
156.9
1997 
$5,562,742  $3,610,714 $1,457,789 $6,893,582 $2,039,957 $14,526,674 
160.5
1998 
$5,795,223  $3,814,162 $1,486,436 $7,163,979 $2,072,903 $15,329,371 
163.0
1999 
$6,232,365  $4,093,793 $1,496,687 $7,476,532 $2,069,887 $16,737,261 
166.6
2000 
$6,744,281  $4,430,030 $1,645,248 $7,811,403 $1,991,852 $17,221,441 
172.2
2001 
$7,322,507  $4,610,327 $1,848,622 $8,106,666 $2,280,493 $17,620,048 
177.5
2002 
$7,599,249  $4,915,339 $1,806,964 $8,488,255 $2,136,616 $18,456,038 
180.1
2003 
$8,273,171  $5,372,822 $1,858,280 $8,813,191 $2,073,913 $19,030,188 
183.9
2004 
$8,286,431 $5,552,216 $1,824,296 $9,015,741 $2,274,878 $19,953,776 189.4
2005 
$8,801,962 $5,933,378 $1,776,416 $9,268,364 $2,243,592 $20,663,012 195.4
Avg annual  
% change 
6.4% 7.6% 2.5% 4.5% 3.8% 4.9% 3.1%
24 Time series for Serial Expenditures, Total Salary Expenditures, and Operating Expenditures were revised due to unavailable data.