This cut dramatically reverses the progress the state had made towards providing a foundation for ubiquitous access to STEM (Science, Technology and Medicine) research and teaching materials statewide. It follows on reductions made in July which included the loss of over 6,000 news, business, and legal sources with the cancellation of LexisNexis Academic a core online legal and business tool for student and faculty research and a 40% reduction in the popular rapid book delivery service, PASCAL Delivers.
PASCAL's 58 member libraries have scrambled to maintain access to the remaining elements of the statewide electronic library for higher education, and we will be able to provide access to our remaining core collection (7,000 research titles) through the end of the current semester, but unless funding for these resources is found, the subscriptions supporting them will need to be terminated in July 2009. The delivery service may also be in jeopardy.
To check on the current status of PASCAL's subscriptions:
http://pascalsc.org/content/view/39/57/
For more information on PASCAL and the funding crisis:
http://pascalsc.org/helpsavepascal.html