LIBR 580

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LIBR 580

• Developing Collections
• Part 2

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The Acquisitions Process

• When the selection process is complete, when all
  aspects of evaluation, knowledge of community
  etc., have been considered then, the
  acquisition process begins.

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Acquisitions

• Rapidly changing area of technical services
• Little or no direct patron input, but
• Key to getting patron requests on the shelf and
• Key to positive image of the library

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Duties of an Acquisitions Department

• 1. Clearinghouse for information
• - publishers catalogues, review journals,
  electronic notices
• 2. Process requests
• - gather and amalgamate requests
• - verify bibliographic data
• 3. Send order to appropriate vendor

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Duties of an Acquisitions Department

• 4. License electronic resources
• 5. Claim for orders not filled
• 6. Receive and check materials
• - both hardcopy and electronic
• 7. Monitor expenditure of funds
• 8. Prepare and disseminate budget reports
• 9. Monitor performance of vendors

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Technology and Acquisitions Departments

• EDI computer to computer exchange of business
  information, including
• ordering, invoicing, receiving
• Uses industry standards (ANSI)
• Data elements include ISSN, ISBN, title, po ,
  price etc
• EDI approval plan means increased efficiency

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• Vendors/jobbers purchase quantities of materials
  from various publishers, then sell to bookstores
  and libraries
• Source materials directly from publishers on
  behalf of libraries
• Offer added services to libraries such as
  cataloguing and processing

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• Why use a jobber?
• A. One order for 10 titles rather
• than 10 separate orders.
• B. One invoice to pay.
• C. One box to unpack.
• D. One place to claim.

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• Selected well-known jobbers
• 1. Baker and Taylor
• 2. Blackwells
• 3. Brodart
• 4. Coutts Library Services Limited
• 5. Ingram
• 6. National Book Service (NBS)
• 7. United Library Service (ULS)
• 8. Librarybound

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• When selecting a jobber, one should keep several
  factors in mind
• Service availability
• - local representative?
• - toll-free numbers?
• Quality of customer service
• - ask for and check references
• - track record of handling problems

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• Selecting a jobber
• Fulfillment statistics
• - overall rate
• - speed
• - accuracy
• - commitment
• Discounts and pricing
• discount projected business
• Jobbers financial viability

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• Selecting a jobber
• Jobbers ability to work with the librarys
  Integrated Library System
• Publisher relationships
• Special services available - free and fee-based

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• Possible special services include
• Acquisition assistance - searches and
  verification services, order tracking
• Selection assistance tools (some including book
  reviews, recommended lists)
• Book rental plans (e.g. Brodart)
• Cataloguing and shelf-ready processing
• Electronic financial transactions beyond the
  basics
• OPAC records
• Provision of electronic tables of contents, cover
  art

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Jobbers, Vendors, Wholesalers

• In collection management, choosing the right
  vendor is second only in importance to choosing
  the right materials. Adapted from Building
  Library Collections by Dorothy Broderick and
  Arthur Curley

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Types of Orders Different Ways to Get Materials

• A. Firm order, also known as title by title
• publishers catalogues, review tools,
  bibliographies
• can order directly from the publisher or through
  a jobber (agent)
• often used in conjunction with an approval plan(s)

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Types of Orders (continued)

• B. Standing Order
• often for items in a series that you know youll
  want, such as yearbooks or directories
• can be placed with publisher or jobber
• used by many types of libraries, including
  public, academic, special and school libraries
• can be set for different intervals (not just
  annual)

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Types of Orders (continued)

• C. Approval Plan
• materials sent to the library according to a
  pre-arranged set of criteria called a profile
• slips (or e-slips) can be sent instead of
  materials - slip plan
• began in the 1960s in large research libraries
• used across library sector
• small percentage may be returned (aim for 2-5)
• success of plan remains with the library

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Types of Orders (continued)

• D. Blanket order (uses profiles)
• narrow subject area or single publisher
• E. Deposit (government)
• F. Gifts
• G. Exchanges (other libraries)
• H. McNaughton type/book rental plans
• Brodart

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Library Approval Plan Profile Options

• 1. Subjects (Class numbers)
• 2. Publisher
• 3. Academic Level
• 4. Readership Level
• 5. Type of Library

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Library Approval PlanProfile Options

• 6. Type of Book
• 7. Type of Edition
• 8. Language of Book
• 9. Format of Publication
• 10. Ceiling price
• 11. Country of Origin

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And dont forget alternative and small presses

• What is an alternative press?
• non-mainstream, non-corporate
• some profit, some non-profit
• content - radical, social or political viewpoints
• voice of ignored viewpoint
• outside the large vendor approval plans
• harder to obtain reviews Small Press Review
• source of IF challenges!
• key to fighting increasingly bland collections

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Alt Press Resources

• Dilevko, Juris and Kalina Grewal. "A New Approach
  to Collection Bias in Academic Libraries The
  Extent of Corporate Control in Journal Holdings."
  Library Information Science Research 19.4
  (1997) 359 - 85
• Kranich, Nancy. "A Question of Balance The Role
  of Libraries in Providing Alternatives to the
  Mainstream Media." Collection Building 19.3
  (2000) 85 - 90. Also available on the Web
  lthttp//libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.18.html12
  gt
• Excellent online bibliography, The Alternative
  Presse and Academic Libraries -
  http//www.mta.ca/library/altpress_libraries.html

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Important Questions

• How much should a library outsource?
• balance between technical and public services
• Is it better to have all your acquisitions
  activities centralized, or decentralized?
• consider responsiveness to user needs