Page 114 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Unit 6: Library Automation in Acquisition

Book trade journals Notes
Previews and announcements issued by publishers
Book reviews appearing in newspapers and journals

Book reviewing journals
Book selection lists brought out by competent bodies
List of textbooks prescribed for various courses of studies
Published catalogues of book exhibitions

Published catalogues of important libraries
Subject bibliographies and subject guides to selection
National bibliographies
Comprehensive retrospective bibliographies like Books in Print

Catalogues of second-hand booksellers
The sources have to be sorted and stored for convenient use. Updating of the sources and
weeding out of old ones should be done on a regular basis.

Allocating Funds

Finance is the most important factor in document selection. Proper planning of finance is basic
to good acquisition work. Every library works according to its budget. The total budget of the
library will include a separate provision for books. This amount will have to be apportioned
among three heads, namely books, periodicals, and binding. This amount thus set apart for
books is the budget placed at the disposal of the Acquisition Department. This amount has to be
used for purchase of books and other types of documents except current periodicals. For the
balanced development of the collection, the books budget should be allocated among different
subjects and categories. This budget allocation is done by the library authority or its delegated
body like the Book Selection Committee. The librarian and the acquisition staff are also involved
in this process since they are the people to provide the information required for budget allocation
to the authorities. Such information may relate to an actual and the potential needs of the
clientele, the current and future programmes of the parent institutions, the strength and weakness
of the existing collection, the price range of publications in particular subjects, etc. These and
other types of information can also be used by the library to obtain enhanced budget provisions.
However, once the allocation is finalised, acquisition work has to conform to the financial
discipline dictated by it.

Arranging Personnel

Planning for document selection should also cover the personnel or human factor. The people
involved in the selection process are the librarian, the acquisition staff, the subject experts and
the library authority or selection committee. The ultimate responsibility for book selection
rests with the librarian. The acquisition staffs are there to help him. But, neither the librarian nor
his staffs are experts in all the different subjects. Therefore, it becomes necessary to take help
from subject specialists. The selection committee may or may not be composed of subject experts.
Nevertheless, committee level decisions have the advantage of being more democratic and
participatory. You must remember that document selection is not a one man job. It should be the
outcome of good team work. Therefore, you must be very prudent in choosing the members of
this team. This applies to both the acquisition staff and the subject experts. You need to maintain

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