I must point out that every source of statistics clearly shows that college and universities now allocate to libraries only half of their 1970 level of spending. That _must_ have some impact on how many librarians are employed in the academic sector. It must affect librarians' career prospects. While David and other managers on this forum defend decimated collections and mediocre resources, there are any number of students, faculty, post-graduate researchers, and academic senates who have passionately decried the sorry state of library resources at major 'research universities.'
Unfortunately, many students, faculty, and researchers tolerate the management line. They bypass the library for online information, unaware of or inured to the poor quality of their results. This attitude cost the life of a research subject at Johns Hopkins last year -- an institution with a good library and many librarians. Neither the principal researcher nor the peer panel that ok'd the research bothered to check the literature beyond a very few online resources according to the Baltimore Sun. In short, the open access movement continues to threaten library spending with promises of a windfall that can only sink to the 'bottom line' of institutional profitability. Worse, it imperils the quality of education and research while making claims of excellence. Best wishes, Albert Henderson Former Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY 1994-2000 <70244.1...@compuserve.com>