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(Editor's note: the OLIS and the SUNY library community appreciate the efforts of those involved in SUNY Faculty Senate resolutions in support of library missions. Text from such a resolution follows. A number of SUNYConnect campuses have taken this to the next step, namely passing similiar resolutions by their campus-based Senates. Good work!)

SUNY Senate
Autumn Plenary Meeting
October 26-28, 2006

Preamble:
Traditionally within SUNY the libraries of the University Centers have acquired material both to support faculty research and their teaching mission. The libraries of the other SUNY institutions have focused more on acquiring materials supporting general research and pedagogy. However, both institutional expectations and research opportunities for both faculty and undergraduate students have prompted all SUNY’s institutions to access to a wider range of research materials. Additionally to a greater degree than in the past SUNY institutions are emphasizing research in undergraduate as well as graduate level education.

At the same time, in response to the growing importance of electronic materials, SUNY libraries and SUNY’s Office of Library Support (OLIS) have undertaken cooperative funding of SUNY-wide access to a limited number of electronic resources that support SUNY’s teaching mission. This strategy has proven cost effective and has allowed greater and more equitable SUNY-wide access to these materials.

The following resolution addresses the need for expanding SUNY-wide access to electronic databases that more appropriately support both SUNY’s teaching and research needs.

Whereas faculty in all SUNY institutions are actively involved in research, and

Whereas currently SUNY libraries, other than those at the University Centers, are neither charged with nor funded to support faculty research, and

Whereas at its Fall 2005 Plenary Meeting, recognizing that the ability of SUNY’s libraries to provide library collections adequate to support the research needs of SUNY faculty and students has been weakened by chronic under-funding, the State University of New York Faculty Senate adopted a resolution recommending that New York State provide SUNY with a one time, catch-up allocation of $8.2 million, and

Whereas no such remedial catch-up funds were included in SUNY’s 2006/2007 budget allocation, and

Whereas electronic resources are an increasingly important component of library collections,

Be it resolved that in order to more adequately support the teaching and research needs of SUNY students and faculty, the SUNY Senate recommends that SUNY institutions and the SUNY Provost, working together, give priority to developing both a strategy and funding mechanism to provide greater SUNY-wide access to a broader range of scholarly databases and other electronic resources than those currently available.