Dear Editor:

A recent Dateline article ("Graduate programs in new U.S. News rankings," April 4) drew attention to the U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings — 10 of UC Davis' graduate programs scored in the top 30 nationwide, and another eight programs and professional schools scored in the top 50.

The UC American Federation of Teachers librarians are proud of the role played by the University Library in these programs. However, while these programs have risen to national prominence, the University Library has been in decline. Over the past 20 years the library has dropped from 24th (1986) to 60th (2006) among the nation's research libraries, according to the Association of Research Libraries.

In the present budget crisis, campus leadership has proposed a 7 percent cut to the library's base budget — a budget that has remained flat since 1993. The campus's research needs have grown significantly and the cost of library materials has increased at rates well above the rate of inflation over the past 15 years. A 7 percent cut would have been difficult in 1993, but it will be far more damaging today.

The University Library mission statement asserts that "the library is a major educational and scholarly resource, operating as an integral part of the university while recognizing obligations to a wider public, particularly the people of California."

Whatever happens in the budget, we call on the campus to commit the resources to reverse the library's decline so that it may once again fulfill its mission at a level commensurate with its position in one of the nation's premier universities.

Axel Borg

bibliographer

Shields Library at UC Davis

president

American Federation of Teachers Local 2023

Lecturers and Librarians