The library here was subject to the same budget cuts facing the entire university. As I understand it most of the library budget is tied u in licenses and subscriptions and to reach the $700,000 dollar target they were going to drop some journal subscriptions.
This got many of the graduate student upset to the point or organizing and formal protest. Meetings were held, letters written representatives pressured. In the course of a week it was announced that federal stimulus money would allow for the salvation of the library. In fact an increase in the budget was announced amounting to $300,000.
The question is was this million dollar swing a consequence of the graduate students lodging their complaints. The federal money came at a convenient time, any earlier and it may have rolled into the budget before cuts were announced. A late arrival would not guarantee a recovery of the library's budget. Its arrival coincident with the protest made the decision for the board very obvious. This was my first experience as a graduate student with the politics of school funding, I'm sure there will be more.
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