Last Thursday, April 27th, the MSU Executive Budget Committee voted to reduce the Internet course incentive paid to instructors from $55 to $40 per student per 3-credit online course. This decision slightly reduced the dollar goal for the MSU Libraries during this budget cutting process to $75,958, a reduction of 1.2% to our overall annual operating budget for FY17 of approx. $6.5 million. Clif’s Notes for May 2nd provides a summary of the overall MSU plan to reduce its operating budget. The Budget Committee of the MSU Libraries then revisited all of the potential cuts identified earlier during our 5% and 10% reduction planning process, and decided to eliminate the Community Engagement and External Support Coordinator position, the position formerly held by Lindsey Arnold Seevers. When that salary and the associated benefits are eliminated, $57,388 will be reduced from our annual operating budget.  To reach the target figure, an additional $18,570 will be cut from the “Non-Student, Part-Time” line of our operating budget. Also, because of ongoing serials inflation, approximately $100,000 of ongoing serial commitments will be cut this summer. This is not a loss of dollars, but rather a loss of purchasing power — a serious, persistent problem for all academic libraries. The operating budget for the MSU Libraries for FY18 will be approx. $6.45 million.