A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 0 1 - 2 0 0 2

FY 2001-2002:
Expanding Services on a Break-even Budget

In FY 2001-2002 BCR was able to expand services to libraries while improving administrative efficiency through a major reorganization. For the third year in a row, BCR was able to lower its surcharges to members and still exceed its service goals for the year. We finished the year with a slight growth in equity ($16,286) on revenue totaling nearly $15 million.

Revenue from BCR service programs increased a healthy 14 percent from FY 2000- 2001, although investment income declined by nearly a quarter. General and administrative expenses totaled just 2.6 percent of revenue this year, a decline of nearly 20 percent in one year and a good indication of the network's increasing efficiency.

The total number of BCR member libraries grew to 1,065 during the year, an 18 percent increase. Another 2,869 smaller libraries used BCR services through large-scale database purchases organized in partnership with the state library agencies in Colorado, Kansas, Iowa and Wyoming. Although 80 percent of BCR member libraries are located in a BCR member state, we now have libraries using services in 39 states and three Canadian provinces.

The greatest area of service growth was in the group database subscriptions administered through the Internet & Database Services (IDS) program. BCR member libraries increased their purchases of access to online databases by 30 percent in FY 2001-2002. Using BCR group discount arrangements for database purchases saved the library community approximately $2.6 million from the amount that individual libraries would have had to pay for the same database subscriptions and products if they had bought them directly from the vendors.

While all types of libraries use BCR services, the greatest growth rate in FY 2001-2002 was from school libraries. More than 120 school districts or individual school libraries joined BCR in FY 2001-2002.

Next Article | Previous Article | BCR Publications | Table of Contents

FY 2001-2002: Expanding Services on a Break-even Budget

FY 2001-2002:
Expanding Services on a Break-even Budget