Money . . . it's a hit.

And a lack of it directly hits below the belt of University Libraries.

Some Commonwealth Campus and Penn State affiliate libraries are suffering due to the lack of funds.

David Bressoud, chairman of the University Faculty Senate Committee on Libraries, said there have been numerous complaints about staffing and lack of hours at some Commonwealth Campus libraries.

The recent report by the Senate Committee on Libraries recommended that the University increase library support by 2.5 percent. University Libraries ranks eighth among Big Ten schools in expenditures.

Commonwealth Campus libraries often have fewer books than Pattee Library so students rely on interlibrary loans, Bressoud said. Some facilities are also cramped, he said.

Joan Diana, the only librarian at the Wilkes-Barre Campus, said the library at the campus was renovated last year, upgrading the facilities to "adequate."

Diana, a member of the Senate Committee on Libraries, said a committee at the campus is now examining the need for a library addition.

The reduced budget will also affect the collection of books because the campus may be unable to get the books students need, she said.

"I think we're going to feel the crunch," she added.

But Gloriana St. Clair, assistant dean for information access services, said that so far, the University has been careful not to take funds away from the already suffering facilities at the Commonwealth Campuses.

"We try to protect them," she said.

A new library is now under construction at Penn State Erie, and money has been secured to begin a new $2.6 million library at the Schuylkill Campus. And a new library at the Hershey Medical Center will open soon.

At Penn State Harrisburg, a plan has been in the works since 1987 for a new $15 million library, said Marvin Bentley, professor of health economics and a member of the Senate Committee on Libraries.

But no building has materialized there yet.

In 1990, the building was the highest academic priority in the University budget, but Gov. Robert P. Casey canceled the project, Bentley said.

Lack of study space has been the biggest complaint at Harrisburg, especially during the "crunch time" of the semester when everyone uses the libraries to study for finals, Bentley said.

Although some Commonwealth Campus and affiliate facilities are severely lacking, Diana's chief concern is library staffing because only five of the 21 Penn State locations have more than one librarian.

"We keep them open with non-professionals," Diana said.

That can be a problem since some of the growing adult population isn't familiar with LIAS --University Libraries' cataloging system -- and don't know where to begin when researching, she said. Also, the new additions to LIAS are tricky, and most students need training, she added.

Martin Goldberg, head librarian at the Beaver Campus, agreed with Diana.

Maintenance, staffing and the small supply of books also causes frustration at Beaver Campus, he said. The library has air conditioning, but it is broken and no funds are available to fix it, he said.

Because of the small book supply, students rely on interlibrary loans, which takes about two or three days and frustrates students, Goldberg said.

"Our collection is dwarfed by University Park," Goldberg said.

Adding to the book-supply problem is the lack of LIAS terminals. There are only two, and they always have lines, he said.

And Penn State Harrisburg has just four working LIAS terminals for the second largest library in the system, Bentley said.

The campus encourages students to use their own modems at home, Bentley said.

The Fayette Campus also has only two LIAS terminals, but students usually don't have to wait, said Rich Brooks, a student there.

"It's a pretty bleak picture," said Goldberg (sophomore-computer engineering).

And the problem could get worse.

Because of declining enrollment at the Commonwealth Campuses, less money is available since tuition revenue generates money for each library, Goldberg said.

Although the University is concerned with book supply, students don't seem to be worrying.

"I usually don't have any trouble (getting books), because we have 60,000 volumes," said Keith Kozo (sophomore-accounting), a Hazleton Campus student.