The two PASCAL programs which most impact The Citadel are "PASCAL Delivers" and the "electronic resources" (which are essentially a group purchase, that is, more subscribers, less cost per subscription).
PASCAL Delivers is largely self-service, letting library patrons place holds for books and some DVDs from any participating library. Thanks to the 11-million item "union catalog," The Citadel is able to spend its book money on books which have fewer than 3 copies available in the state. That is, there's no need to purchase a 17th copy of A Day No Pigs Would Die, but a second copy of The Sky is Falling would likely be useful.
"Electronic resources" (also known as "databases" or "journal aggregates") that The Citadel has access to thanks to PASCAL include Academic Search Premier and Business Source Premier. PASCAL staff and committees take care of the paperwork so every college student in the state can have access to the resources. If the state is unable to restore PASCAL funding to 2006-07 levels, The Citadel will need to pay for these two databases, either separately or as part of a group of schools across the state. In either case the cost per subscription will go up, since there are many small and technical colleges in South Carolina which cannot afford to participate in a group purchase. I'm hopeful that The Citadel can continue to provide access for its students, at least to Academic Search Premier, but students and faculty whose colleges cannot participate will be out of luck.
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