Linear Goal Programming for Academic Library Acquisitions Allocations

The allocation of an academic library's acquisitions funds should contribute to the achievement of the library's goals and objectives. The availability of diverse materials and the varying demands of user needs in a variety of subject disciplines may represent a set of conflicting, incommensurate goals. Lexicographic linear goal programming offers an appropriate allocation methodology for determining an optimal solution with conflicting goals. This article applies this methodology to 90 funds representing books and periodicals in 45 subject disciplines at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT). The model's goals incorporate several categories of budget constraints and user needs. The application of this formula resulted in the successful distribution of $3.5 million while taking into consideration ten goals or variables ranging from circulation to number of faculty and students. It also builds in accommodations for political factors and pressures, a unique feature in allocation formulas.

Article appears in Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory 20, no. 3 (1996): 311-326.