The library collections have grown steadily over time, but recent years have witnessed dramatic changes in the types and costs of resources being collected. The greatest changes in how the collection budget has been spent have been the rise in periodical subscription costs and the rapid growth in numbers of electronic resources.
Boston College Libraries Holdings and Expenditures (including Law Library)
| Fiscal Year | Total Volumes | Total Serials | Expenditures for all materials |
| 1996 | 1,590,964 | 18,266* | $3,684,868 |
| 2002 | 1,970,143 | 21,416* | $6,877,541 |
| 2008 | 2,504,611 | Paper: 6,388** | $9,065,217 |
| Electronic: 25,276*** |
*Paper and electronic serials.
**Paper and electronic serials were reported separately beginning in FY2005.
***The total includes serials accessible via subscriptions to periodical indexes.
Boston College Libraries Holdings in Electronic Resources (including Law Library)
| Fiscal Year | Total Electronic Serial Subscriptions | Total E-books |
| 2007 | 24,075 | 300,053 |
| 2008 | 25,276 | 300,671 |
More BC holdings and expenditures data is available in the annual Boston College Fact Books.
North American Academic Books: Average Prices 2003-2005*
| Year | Average Price | % Increase |
| 2005 | $65.42 | -- |
| 2006 | $67.29 | 2.9 |
| 2007 | $68.01 | 1.1 |
*The Bowker Annual: Library and Book Trade Annual. 54th ed., 2009.
U.S. Periodicals: Average Prices: 2006-2008*
| Year | Average Price | % Increase |
| 2006 | $702 | -- |
| 2007 | $767 | 9 |
| 2008 | $828 | 9 |
*Library Jounal Periodicals Price Survey 2008
The library collections have grown steadily over time, but recent years have witnessed dramatic changes in the types and costs of resources being collected. The greatest changes in how the collection budget has been spent have been the rise in periodical subscription costs and the rapid growth in numbers of electronic resources.