Fundraising in academic libraries: the United States experience

Funding in academic libraries has become increasingly problematic and competitive during the last part of the twentieth century. Academic libraries manage, collect and provide access to an ever‐growing arsenal of information for an increasing number of users in an environment of growing financial constraints. Libraries employ highly trained and educated staff, need complex facilities and sophisticated electronic technologies in order to operate successfully. The economic issues facing libraries in the 1990s and beyond are complex. Today, new approaches are needed to address financial dilemmas of the academic library. Thus, major efforts are underway to increase budgets for academic libraries through fundraising. Different types of fundraising for academic libraries are examined here and creative methods are detailed, as examples, from different institutions. Some statistics are included to provide illustrations. Related issues of resource sharing, contracts and fee‐based services are offered as part of an entrepreneurial approach to library management.