Collection development based on patron requests: collaboration between interlibrary loan and acquisitions

Libraries are exploring new models of collaboration between interlibrary loan, collection development, and acquisitions. This paper presents two models in which libraries set aside acquisitions or other funds to purchase books requested by patrons through ILL processes. Workflows, scope criteria, and departmental relationships are described. The article reports on several aspects of the effectiveness of these models, such as turnaround time (comparable to traditional ILL loans), average cost per book ($37.00), and patron satisfaction (very high). The authors also address the subsequent circulation of titles and report on the bibliographers’ analysis of the relevance of the titles to the collection of one of the libraries.     

Vendor-assisted e-selection and online ordering: optimal conditions

In response to demands from libraries, a number of library materials vendors have converted their in-house working databases into e-selection and online ordering tools for their customers. Some libraries have embraced these new sources to select titles and then export bibliographic, ordering, and invoice records into their automated acquisitions systems. These libraries have integrated the use of the vendor databases (e.g., GOBI, Collection Manager, Otto-Editions, I libri) into their daily selection and ordering operations. This article will address the forces behind this new approach, some results, the benefits, implications, trade-offs, and optimal conditions for success of this acquisition method. The authors will assess these issues through a more in-depth examination of the experiences at the University of North Carolina Academic Affairs Library and at the University of Chicago Libraries as well as findings in the literature.     

Judging the Need for and Value of DDA in an Academic Research Library Setting

This article reports findings from a multiphase analysis of demand-driven acquisitions (DDA) within the academic research library setting. Evaluating local collections within the context of Trueswell's (1969) often-cited 80/20 Rule, phase one of this study illustrates the deficiencies of a just-in-case approach to building library collections. Following from this, phase two evaluates the viability of DDA as the just-in-time collection-building solution librarians have sought as an answer to low-use titles that plague most academic library collections. Supported by 16?months of data, this study scrutinizes the comparative value of DDA against traditionally acquired titles along two key dimensions—the subject-matter profile of purchases and their overall usage levels. Further, the concept of a utility as value paradigm, as well as a purchase-use equilibrium for library collections, provide a theoretical framework in which the relative value of DDA is assessed. From a content, or subject-matter, perspective, this study finds negligible deviation in those purchasing patterns associated with DDA when compared with traditionally-acquired materials. At the same time, DDA titles experience much higher levels of use and are, therefore, associated with markedly lower cost-per-use figures and greater overall value.     

The college textbook as a tool for collection evaluation,analysis, and retrospective collection development

The search for effective methods of predicting book and journal use has been a central concern of acquisitions librarians. This paper suggests the application of citation analysis to the college textbook as a means of evaluating, analyzing, and developing book collections in small and medium sized academic libraries. Arguments for the relevance of textbook citations are presented, and a study of the references found in 25 texts in five separate disciplines indicates that the titles cited go far beyond basic checklists in number and depth and that many of these titles will not be included in smaller academic library collections developed according to traditional methods.     

The Publishing Industry in Germany: A Review of 2008

A brief review is presented of the Trade book publishing industry in Germany with a focus on bestsellers, authors and titles, acquisitions and mergers of publishers as well as booksellers and distributors. The data for the Leipzig Book Fair and Frankfurt Book Fair is presented. The article concludes with a review of awards and prizes presented to authors in 2008.     

Supporting Indigenous Studies Programs Through Sustainable Budget Allocation

ABSTRACT

This study assesses acquisitions budget allocation for sustainable support of Indigenous Studies (IS) and the challenge of addressing the needs of an emergent subject area. A survey of collections librarians provided context for library allocation practices of other Canadian institutions offering IS programs. An analysis of titles purchased before and after creating an IS subject fund was performed; results reveal that there was an increase in the number of IS titles purchased annually after the fund was created. A defined subject fund allowed flexibility beyond conventional library collections structures to address the unique needs of IS as an academic discipline.     

North American Approval Program coverage and cost study 1998/99

Blackwell’s Approval Program Coverage and Cost Study details subject areas and list prices of monographs covered by our New Titles program for academic library collections. The Study reports on titles treated, not on copies sold—each title is counted once, whether it was purchased by one library or by hundreds. The Study presents information on numbers of titles treated and average list price, arranged by Blackwell’s subjects and then by LC class, for all publishers and then for university presses exclusively. It also includes a detailed report of all treated titles by NLM class. Additionally, the report includes a breakdown of the non-subject characteristics (e.g., language and format) of treated titles. Since most of Blackwell’s Approval libraries are not profiled to receive books for titles coded with the Non-Subject Parameters (NSPs) Popular works and Lower undergraduate texts, we exclude titles with these NSPs from the Coverage and Cost Study. This article appeared originally at http://www.blackwell.com/shelf/tools/cc.htm It is reproduced with the permission of the author.     

Distant libraries for distance education in the South Pacific

The University of the South Pacific (USP) places a high priority on distance education. Here, library provision for external students is examined, in particular: library acquisitions for extension studies; the division of responsibilities among the main on-campus library and the various USP Center libraries in the islands served by the university; selection of titles and the quality of the library collections; textbooks for external students; use of services (book loans, periodical article photocopies, reference, and information services). The particular problems of the USP Library, which serves geographically scattered, developing islands, are considered, including specific library problems such as the non-use of resources by students, and staff shortages in USP Center libraries. Reference is made to coopera tive arrangements between the USP Library and other libraries in the region. Finally, problems and possibilities in the future are discussed, including funding difficulties (and dependence on foreign aid), and the implications of technological developments.     

Flipped Interlibrary Loan (F.I.L.L.): Putting Interlibrary Loan in the Driver's Seat of Acquisitions

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is an important service point in the academic library, a channel through which patrons can ask for specific books and expect that those books will be made available to them. Examining the methods in which libraries handle those requests may reveal new workflows wherein ILL can influence the direction of the library's permanent acquisitions. ILL data is able to drive immediate purchases of user-requested titles but also more complex models of acquisition. By comparing circulation rates and expenditures against traditional book-approval plans, acquisitions departments may also measure the financial effectiveness of purchase-on-demand programs and use them to both supplement and supplant those approval plans. At the core of Lehigh University's efforts is an internal library philosophy called “Flipped Interlibrary Loan” (F.I.L.L.), by which ILL can and should inform permanent acquisitions for the library collection.     

A versatile dbase III + acquisitions program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Many commercially available automated acquisitions packages may be too limiting in their accounting and report functions to answer the information needs of not only processing staff but faculty and higher administrative officers. Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Gordon Library developed a dBase III + system based on a microcomputer with hard disk capacity that, with the creation of a single record per item ordered, allows for totally flexible manipulation of data in a multifunctional data base. The system keeps track of complex accounts, analyzes recent acquisitions in light of collection development goals, aids in evaluation of vendor performance, produces many types of management reports, and gives the library control over steps in the acquisitions process, such as claims and status reports.     

Automated acquisitions: The future of collection development

Automation of vendor files and integrated library systems are changing (a) the process of collection development, (b) the role of the collection developer, (c) the relationship between libraries and vendors, and even (d) the library's organization. By combining files in the bibliographer's workstation, paraprofessional staff can select the core collection; professionals will focus on expensive or fringe titles. Programmed or mechanical selection can replace staff decisions in acquiring the core titles. Automation may increase successful cooperative collection development and expand the responsibilities of collection developers. Professional roles will change to include more policy, preservation, evaluation, and process assignments. Collection development activities may be decentralized and combined with reference and cataloging subject groups or become part of acquisitions processing teams.     

Organizing out-of-print and replacement acquisitions for effectiveness,efficiency, and the future

The authors recommend centralization within an acquisitions department of all aspects of out-of-print (OP) work: searching, “photo ordering,” and acquiring commercially available microformats and reprints—for new acquisitions and replacements of monographs and serials, and for collection development and preservation. Centralized organization affords flexibility for surges and decreases in workload, concentrates and reinforces staff knowledge and their ability to make informed decisions and recommendations, guarantees consistent adherence to copyright regulations, and promotes timely and pragmatic choices among acquisition methods and sources of supply.This article traces the theory and history behind centralization of OP functions, using the Photo/Search Division at the University of California, Berkeley, Library as a case study. In each type of OP work, the decision-making processes are discussed, with emphasis on how the different options for OP acquisitions are interdependent. The concepts used to determining the best method of OP acquisition, and the best source of supply within each method, including applicable copyright considerations, are described in general terms—adaptable to other libraries. The conclusion discusses the outlook for OP work in the future. Appendix of OP tools and sources for OP dealers and services.     

NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES

This article presents data determined from a study made of the major national bibliographies of Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand with regard to the information that they provide on periodicals and monographic series. Frequently in acquisitions work the national bibliographies must be consulted for the verification of new periodical titles and for the verification of monographic series and their constituent volumes. For a librarian the recurrent task of verifying these works through the bibliographies can be an arduous one, since the various bibliographies differ greatly in the extent to which they provide data on periodicals and series. Since the main listing and index arrangements of many of the national bibliographies are often complex, and since there are to data no guides available that graphically illustrate these arrangements and indicate what data the bibliographies provide or do not provide on periodicals and series, the author constructed charts to illustrate (a) what data are provided by the bibliographies and (b) how these data may be accessed in the bibliographies, namely, which indexes or main listings should first be consulted. It is hoped that this information will be of value to librarians in their daily work with these important tools.     

Pre-1950 Serials in OCLC

To investigate the use by OCLC member institutions of database records for pre-1950 serial publications and to compare the value of those records with the ones in the long standard Union List of Serials and the newly completed National Union Catalog, Pre-1956 Imprints, a residue of 50 titles found in a random sample of 200 serials drawn from OCLC in 1978 were examined in the database again in 1981 and searched in the printed tools. The 2 OCLC records were compared to find bibliographical modifications, last time of use, and additional libraries reported. The 1981 record was compared against records from ULS and NUC Pre-1956 for the number of libraries with ownership reported and the inclusion of selected bibliographical data. OCLC participants had made some use of more than half the records and appeared to be updating the bibliographical content as necessary. Almost all the titles were in one of the printed tools, but a substantial number were not in both. NUC Pre-1956 carried more of the titles than ULS, but ULS appeared to be the most comprehensive of the 3 tools for those serials it listed. OCLC followed ULS as a bibliographical resource while NUC Pre-1956 came second for identifying holding libraries. OCLC was concluded to have strength and potential as a pre-1956 serial information tool by its capacity to correct and add data while ULS and NUC Pre-1956 were concluded to be valuable backup sources for the older serial publications also having an online record available.     

Out-of-print, out of mind? A case study of the decision to outsource out-of-print acquisitions

This study addresses the question: Can the specialized process of acquiring out-of-print books be outsourced successfully to private vendors? The study reports the results of a case study of the decision to outsource out-of-print acquisitions at LaGuardia Community College in the City University of New York. Data were collected and analyzed regarding acquisitions costs, fulfillment rate, condition of books received, and overall success of the venture. The study concludes that the benefits of outsourcing outweigh the additional expense of vendor handling charges and suggests that libraries can successfully outsource routine tasks while maintaining control over important acquisitions decisions.     

Veterinary medicine books recommended for academic libraries

This bibliography of in-print veterinary medical books published in English may be used as an acquisitions or evaluation tool for developing the monograph component of new veterinary medicine collections or existing science, technology, and medicine collections where veterinary medicine is in the scope of the collection. The bibliography is divided into 34 categories and consists of bibliographic information for 419 titles. The appendix contains an author/editor index. Prices for all entries are in US dollars, except where another currency is noted. The total cost of all books in the bibliography is $43,602.13 (US).     

Automating acquisitions with NOTIS: A southern exposure: Acquisitions Librarians/Vendors of Library Materials Discussion Group

A talk at an RTSD Discussion Group, ALA Midwinter, 1988, relates one library's acquisitions experiences in using a fully integrated system. Auburn University Library, an early user of the NOTIS acquisitions package, found the advantages outweighed the difficulties of limited financial functions and reports. The integration of records into one system for use throughout all processes is the principal benefit of the system.     

科技学术期刊论文题名雷同化问题及其解决对策

期刊论文题名雷同化是指一本期刊多篇论文的题名在句式结构方面存在明显的相同之处,包括前导词汇相同型和后缀词汇相同型这2种基本类型。论文题名雷同化,既有作者方面的原因,也有编辑方面的原因。解决题名雷同化问题,要求文稿责任编辑、当期责任编辑、编辑部负责人和论文作者强化科技学术期刊论文的题名优化意识、题名体系意识和题名创新意识。