ACQUISITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

1. ACQUISITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

2. ACQUISITIONS • the means by which additions are made to the library (Wulfekoetter, 1961) • The process of securing materials for the library collection, whether by purchase, as gifts, or through exchange programs (Evans, 2000). • Primarily concerned with the ordering, claiming and receipt of materials for the library (Gorman, 1998). • tasks include obtaining materials by purchase, gift or exchange; paying for or acknowledging receipt; and maintaining appropriate records

3. The place of Acquisitions in the Library Structure • essentially a service unit for the public services and must treat public services departments and staff as customers to be satisfied • works with the circulation department in the preservation of the collection through binding and rebinding and replacing lost, or damaged, and worn-out materials • must work closely with the cataloging department in materials processing in the quickest and most economical way possible

4. The Acquisitions Librarian • skills needed: knowledge of the book and other media; knowledge of the publishing trade; familiar with the basic cataloging practices and policies; managerial skills and business competence

5. Four goals of the acquisitions department • To acquire material as quickly as possible • To maintain a high level of accuracy in all work procedures • To keep work processes simple, to achieve the lowest possible unit cost • To develop close, friendly working relationships with other library units and with vendors

6. Detailed Functions of the Acquisitions Department • Provide and maintain an up to date selection and order tools appropriate to the needs of the library to include publishers’ catalogs, trade bibliographies, etc. etc. • maintain files of materials on order/in process in such a manner that will permit all staff members to use them with ease • Perform pre-order bibliographic searching to avoid duplication, obtain sufficient information to permit order to be placed, and to establish the main entry that probably will be used when the material is catalogued • select dealers or other sources for the purchase of materials, preparing and mailing orders, making provisions for the provision for the preparation of cataloging copy • receiving, unpacking, sorting and checking in books

7. Detailed Functions of the Acquisitions Department • approving invoices for payment; maintaining payment records • mechanical preparation of books such as entering marks of identification and pasting book pockets/bar code labels, date due slips • forwarding materials for cataloging • entering subscription orders, receiving and recording periodical • Making follow-ups and claims for unfilled orders • Informing requestors of the availability of materials or status of orders; preparation of New Acquisitions List • Searching for out-of-print materials • Materials selection • soliciting gifts and establishing exchange agreements; maintaining appropriate records; receiving materials; sending exchange shipments to exchange partners

8. Acquisitions Process • Request processing • Preorder work/bibliographic verification • Ordering

9. Request processing • Receiving requests for materials • Organizing incoming requests • Checking for request details accuracy

10. Preorder work / Bibliographic verification • Establishing the existence if an item, which includes determining the exact name of the author, title, publisher, date of publication, price, and where it may be acquired. • Determining whether the library wants of needs a copy (i.e. replacement for lost or damaged item, additional copy or duplicate copy)

11. Some problems in Bibliographic Searching • Incomplete and/or incorrect information • Variations in spelling of author’s name • Choice of main entry • Data supplied in the request

12. Ordering • Firm Order • Standing order • Approval plan • Blanket order

13. Ordering workflow • Before placing an order, the staff must decide on: which acquisition method to use, what vendor to use and where to get the money • Order placement and receiving : - vendor selection - Preparation of Purchase Order (PO) - assigning order numbers for control and tracking - submission of orders through mail, fax or e-mail - order receipt and verification - claims and follow-ups - receipt of ordered items - checking deliveries against Purchase Order and packing slip/list - checking physical condition of delivered materials - property marking by stamping or embossing - approving invoices for payment

14. Some common problems in the receipt of materials ordered • wrong entries/data in the invoice • wrong edition sent • items ordered but not received • Items not ordered but shipped • Too may or not enough copies • Imperfect copies received

15. Forms, records and files • Outstanding Order File • Standing Order File • Desiderata or Want file • Claims File • Requisitions, Vouchers File • Invoices file • Letter orders/Purchase Orders • Serials Check-in File • Accession Record • Dealers’ Payment Card • Financial Reports • Short Reports • Statement of Account • Credit Memos • Gifts/Exchanges Partners File • Delivery Receipts for On Approval titles

16. Methods of Acquisition • Purchase and subscription • Gifts and exchanges • Deposits

17. Jobbers and vendors • Jobber – a wholesaler who stocks many copies of various kinds of books which he supplies to certain retail outlets and to libraries (Wulfekoetter, 1961) • can give customers both the short discounts and the trade discounts

18. Concerns when making decisions on which vendor to choose • service (reliable agent, toll-free numbers, websites, etc.) • quality of service – ask for references and check ability to handle conflicts and problems • speed fulfillment and accuracy • discounts and pricing • company’s financial viability • ability to work with the library’s automation system • special services available • special service offered

19. Cooperative collection development and resource sharing • A mechanism which provides for two or more libraries enter an agreement that each one will have certain areas of “primary collecting responsibility” and the exchange of such materials with one another with no charges • Coordinated acquisitions whereby two or more libraries agree to buy certain materials, and/or share the associated costs and one or more members houses the material • Joint acquisitions whereby the members place a joint order for a product or service and each member receives the product service

20. Benefits of Cooperative collection development • Increased potential for improving access • Greater possibility of stretching limited resources • Sharing that can result to greater staff specialization with one person being able to concentrate on one or two activities rather than five or six with specialization resulting to better performance • Promoting and advertising the cooperative’s presence in the library program may reduce the number if places a client will need to go for service • Though not thoroughly obvious, cooperative efforts create improvements in the working relationships among cooperative libraries