Academic libraries are caught between two jaws of a powerful vice. On one side, the volume of books and journals increases annually, while on the other side the purchase price for those publications rises at a rate that is much faster than inflation. The result is sharply rising library collection costs that few univerisities can sustain far into the future at the current growth rates.

The increased volume of publications and increased item costs have crippled the ability of libraries to maintain comprehensive collections. This is a long term trend, not a temporary funding aberration (cite).

The subscription costs for these journals increases much faster than the rate of inflation.

"... between 1981 and 1995 budgets for collections at 89 research libraries increased by an average of 82% in real dollars (corrected for inflation) yet lost 38% of their buying power". (cite)

Combined, these two factors point to a devastating loss in buying power by research libraries. (chart & cite). The rate of decay cannot be solved by merely allocating more money to acquisitions. In the coming years, colleges and universities will need to invent novel methods to organize, store, and deliver the information that forms the core of learned communities.