Shelf sufficiency

David Baker rightly observes that the long-awaited electronic publishing revolution offers little in the way of an immediate solution to the acute problem of university underprovision of books and articles for students (Letters, THES, August 20). Moreover, even when it does arrive, it is unlikely to be much help, since the problem is one of budgets, not of publishers' distribution methods.

Baker is right, too, that until universities flex their muscles with publishers, the problem of rocketing literature prices will not be solved. But the real power lies with the academics. Only they have the collective power to refuse to contribute to books and journals produced by publishers that persist in inflating prices.

Alternatively, academics could stop moaning about the availability of books and use their power as voting members of faculties to ensure universities budget properly for information provision.

Baker suggests a system of regional inter-library loans. These already exist in certain parts of the country and work better in academic communities that are relatively concentrated, usually metropolitan, than in ones that are geographically dispersed.

Timothy Hobbs University librarian University of Leicester