This document analyzes how very high research universities are reacting to the rapid inflation of serial costs, known as the "serials crisis". It finds that while serial expenditures grew significantly from 2000 to 2008, the crisis is less about budget and more about access, as limited growth universities struggle to maintain resources. Data from the NCES and Carnegie Classification help understand the factors influencing university missions and library roles, and show electronic serial costs grew 616.8% while current serial costs grew 59.5%, with total expenditures up 42.5%. Private and higher spending universities increased serial costs more. The data effectively demonstrates the crisis' impact on access.