Memorial Library Staff Information

Budget Structure

The Berry College fiscal year is July1 - June 30.

Berry College uses a typical numerical structure that delineates fund type, department, and line item. In addition to the regular college allocation, Memorial Library has seven restricted funds. Two of the funds, Library Books (63004) and Memorial Library (63024) are restricted expendable funds; all of the others are restricted endowed* funds.

• 1-1-93300 Memorial Library's regular college allocation
• Restricted funds:
  • 2-1-53101 Verlie Shipp Book Fund (restricted to library materials)
  • 2-1-53102 Sibyl Shipp Strain Fund (miscellaneous expenses)
  • 2-1-53103 C. C. Wilson Library Fund (restricted to library materials)      
  • 2-1-53104 Edith Johnson Book Fund (restricted to library materials)
  • 2-1-53106 David C. Garrett, Jr. Library Fund (“new books … selected from all academic disciplines.” )             
  • 2-1-63004 Library Books (restricted to library materials)   
  • 2-1-63024 Memorial Library Fund (miscellaneous expenses)

All funds are present in the college's General Ledger, available via VikingWeb, but fund balances are not accurately maintained for the restricted funds.

Currently, and for the past 15+ years, the college's approach to a department's budget is that the overall balance at the end of the fiscal year should be in budget, but that with the exception of the Student Work categories, line item allocations can be reallocated to suit the department's needs. Memorial Library has typically kept a line between materials funds (books, e-books, databases & periodicals) and operations funds, but this is not mandated by the college. There is a form for requesting reallocation within a department's funds, but we have given up using it during the progression of the fiscal year because at the beginning of the new fiscal year allocations revert to their initial funding level.

In general, Berry College does not expect departments to have income, and departments are able to make deposits into expense funds. Funds deposited into the library's income fund are absorbed into the college's general fund. Memorial Library's current practice is to deposit money collected at the service desk into three income funds (11800878074, 11890998080 & 11890998099). Other income is deposited in our expense accounts.

Staff salaries and benefits are not included in department budgets.

*FYI, Berry uses an atypical method of determining the annual spending rate for endowed funds.

Line Items

Berry uses the term "line item" to designate the type of expense. These line item numbers are used across all accounts.