The Optimized Library: Database Renewals

How to balance budgets and departmental politics when making database renewal decisions

Posted on June 22, 2026 in Videos

“The Optimized Library: Solving the Puzzles of Modern Library Management” is a video series from LibTech Insights, hosted by Sam Suber, Electronic Resources Coordinator at Moraine Valley Community College Library. In this series, Sam explores how mathematical optimization empowers libraries to make smarter, value-driven decisions when facing today’s complex operational hurdles. Check out Sam’s previous work.

Every year, library administrators have to take a hard look at their budgets and usage data to decide which databases to renew. These decisions are made more difficult by what we might politely call “external factors,” but which might more accurately be described as departments that will blast you for any cuts to their favorite databases. In this balancing act, the search for an optimal solution isn’t just about deciding which databases to renew; it’s also about justifying them to all stakeholders.

In this installment, Sam shows how Microsoft Excel Solver can help librarians make tough renewal decisions by balancing the budget and campus politics. More importantly, by using examples that maximize use and political clout, he shows how Solver can create a mathematical model of the trade-offs in database renewal decisions and equip librarians with numbers to defend them.

For more background on Microsoft Excel Solver, refer to Sam’s post, “Maximizing Impact: Using Excel Solver for Optimal Library Budgeting.”

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