Hedge your budget risk through service increases

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a case at the University of St Francis (USF), where common fears and, in some cases, harsh realities of library budget reductions can be strategically allayed or altogether avoided through creativity, changes in motivation and implementation of redesigns in organizational work flows and tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

The USF Library shifted focus away from a reactionary stance against pending budget cuts toward a proactive strategy in order to circumvent anticipated reductions in funding for library operations and staff.

Findings

Changes in attitudinal and service posturing created an environment that allowed the USF to show itself as a more essential function of its university as a whole. The changes suggested in this paper add more workload to USF existing library functions, but also add more interested stakeholders.

Originality/value

This paper offers insight and direction to practitioners looking to investigate the feasibility of selectively increasing workload in order to increase overall value to their institutions, resulting in budget security during harsh economic times.

Citation

Cottrell, T. (2011), "Hedge your budget risk through service increases", The Bottom Line, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 6-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/08880451111141999