The case for acquisitions standards in the integrated library system

Acquisitions metadata within current library integrated systems is not based on any standard; rather, systems vendors generally define structure and content according to proprietary approaches. The authors argue that this cripples library acquisitions practitioners and managers in numerous ways. It renders routine tasks more difficult, jeopardizes the integrity of data during system migration, forces adoption of costly external tracking solutions, and hinders efforts to manage collections and budgets. The authors define acquisitions standards and relate them to existing bibliographic and e-commerce protocols. They discuss reasons for the lack of acquisitions standards and outline first steps in a project to develop them. This paper is based on a presentation given at the Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, Fourth Annual Conference, held 17-20 May 2003.     

The business of library acquisitions: A consumer action model

Librarians'concerns for ethics, management, standards, and evaluation of service performance reflect a concern for the business operations of a library. While libraries serve social, educational, and cultural needs in society, they are also non-profit business organizations. It is, therefore, necessary that a library be managed as a professional business. We are large bureaucracies and major consumers, but we find ourselves striving for recognition as professional organizations by the public and the book industry.In Acquisitions, as conscientious consumers of the publishing industry, we have a responsibility to evaluate the trade standards of the products we purchase and the performance of the service for which we have contracted. This paper presents a model of trade standard guidelines for a specialized area of the publishing industry and advocates a broader application towards trade standards for the entire publishing industry.     

Authorship in library acquisitions: Practice & theory

Authorship in Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, volume 1, number 1 (January 1977) through volume 19, number 4 (Winter 1995) is analyzed. A literature review identifies numerous other studies of authorship patterns in library and information science (LIS) journals. This study's major findings are: 80.6% of LAPT authors contributed a single article, while 3.9% wrote four or more; 15.6% of the articles were collaboratively written by two or more authors; 65.4% of LAPT authors were academic librarians and 10.6% were vendors; a majority (53.9%) were male, but longitudinal analysis shows an increasing portion of female authors; and 15.3% of LAPT authors were from outside the U.S. Comparisons are made with other LIS journals and explanations for the findings are briefly speculated upon.     

A knowledge-based expert systems application in library acquisitions: Monographs

The decision-making process in any environment, including the library, is potentially subjective and arbitrary. The impetus for this research has been to eliminate the discretionary component in vendor selection by designing a quantitative decision-making model. Technically, the model is based on the artificial intelligence concept known as an expert system. The model uses rules provided by the expert, policies of the individual institution, and quantitative decision techniques to assign orders to vendors. Advantages to this knowledge-based model are the following: (1) assurance of quantitative objectivity; (2) efficient allocation of limited resources; (3) improved use of personnel time; (4) creation of a database of vendor price structuring; and (5) usefulness as a training resource.     

The future of library acquisitions as the electronic information realm evolves

The community of scholars and the scholarship industry coexist in a symbiosis. It is sometimes claimed that computers could take over the role of libraries as information migrates from print to electronic transmission, but computing should properly be seen as a new element in the publishing industry while libraries are the property of the community of scholars. There is a wide range of intellectual material, from data through information to works of understanding and imagination, and no single medium is best for every purpose. Computers have much to offer at the data end of the range, but print remains the choice of users for works requiring extended exposition, as well as current awareness publishing.     

Collection development and acquisitions for library services to students of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University

This paper provides background information on Thailand's Thammathirat Open University (STOU) and summarizes the main services provided to STOU students. It then examines library and educational media services and gives special attention to acquisitions policies and procedures as well as to budgeting. Finally, particular problems and possible solutions are considered.     

PBA: Percentage Based Allocation for acquisitions: A simplified method for the allocation of the library materials budget

A simplified approach to the allocation of the library materials budget is proposed that is based on the formula allocations to universities by their fiscal governing bodies. Theoretically, this approach reflects most of the elements of previously proposed formulas, although in an indirect way. The validity of this method is discussed in the context of certain assumptions, along with its advantages and disadvantages. This method would be most applicable where audiovisual materials and books are combined in one budget, such as in a community college or learning resource center.     

Incorporating electronic products into the acquisitions workflow in a small college library

Electronic products have changed the number of options available for individualizing the acquisitions workflow. Individual preferences and cost-effectiveness determine the mix of print with electronic products for each selector, with some advantages of the electronic medium being desktop availability at each workstation, the ease of electronic transfer of bibliographic information for ordering, access to the latest ordering information available, electronic searching capability, and e-mail alerts. Some of the electronic products choices used at Saint Mary’s College, a small, liberal arts oriented college, are discussed briefly.     

Incorporating electronic products into the acquisitions workflow in a small college library

Electronic products have changed the number of options available for individualizing the acquisitions workflow. Individual preferences and cost-effectiveness determine the mix of print with electronic products for each selector, with some advantages of the electronic medium being desktop availability at each workstation, the ease of electronic transfer of bibliographic information for ordering, access to the latest ordering information available, electronic searching capability, and e-mail alerts. Some of the electronic products choices used at Saint Mary’s College, a small, liberal arts oriented college, are discussed briefly.