ACQUISITION OF PERIODICALS: AN EXPERIENCEIN SENDQC

Discus.es problema invo lv ed in the procurement offore ign periodicalo. Points out that arnongat all acquis i-tion rnet bod in practice direct subscription syatem givesmo re satisfactory reaulte. The study i. based on theacquisition of about 1200 periodicals in SENDOC.

1. INTRODUCTION

Periodicals constitute an important part of alibrary collection. Their importance is manifold ina special library. They bring out the results ofresearch and development within weeks of formu-lations, whereas it takes a very long time for themto appear in the shape of a book. Because of theirworth, a huge part of a library's budget is allocatedfor periodicals and due care has to be taken in theirselection and acquisition.

2. ACQUISITION OF PERIODICALS

The process of acquiring books and periodi-cals by a library is known as" acquisition". Thework of acquisition involves selection, ordering andobtaining materials by means of gift, exchange oragainst payment.

As regards the difference between acquisitionof books and periodicals, the procedures involved intheir selection are almost same. The differencelies in the mode of payment and obtaining them.Since books are commercial publications, thecommon practice is that booksellers supply them ona credit basis and prefer bills for payments. It isalso very common that booksellers leave their newarrivals in librarie s on an "approval basis" andarrange book exhibitions from time to time for spotselections.

While it is common in the case of periodicals,acquisition of books directly from publishers is rare.This is advisable only for publications which thebook trade fails to acquire due to low margin of

Abdul GhaniSIET Institute, Hyderabad-50004

ACQUISITION OF PERIODICALS

hard -and -fast rule to point out a "short discounted"title to justify the claim of a supplier. Hence what-ever is said by an agent has to be accepted in totalwithout further arguments.

On the whole there is a strong feelingamong the librarians that in the a cqu is ition of perio-dicals the role of an agent has shrunk to only for-warding communications and money in foreigncurrencies whenever received. The supply anyhowis effected directly by the publishers.

The relation between the publishers, agentsand libraries in the case of subscriptions throughagents and the relations between publishers andlibraries in direct subscription system are shownin the following two figures:

In view of the difficulties mentioned earlier,the only means left for a serials librarian is to go infor subscriptions directly with the publishers. Thispaper deals with the successful working of thissystem in the library of the SENDOC (Small Enter-prises National Documentation Centre).

4. DIRECT SUBSCRIPTION SYSTEM

To obtain current periodicals from foreigncountries no import licence is needed. Foreignexchange for subscription to current periodicals ofscience and technology can be drawn from the banks.

Books have also been exempted from importtrade control (ITC) restrictions under certain con-ditions like only single copies of books should beimported at a time, they should be scientific, tech-nical and educational, the total value of the import

SUBSCRIPTION THROUGH AGENTDIALOGUE THROUGH INTERMEDIARY

Vol 24 No 2 June 1977

in a year should not exceed the limits fixed by thegovernment and notified in the Gazette and thecurrent ITC policy (Ministry of Commerce, Govern-ment of India, 1974). The following two pae ag r apheextracted from ITC policy volume I, April 74-March 75, dealing with the permissibility of importof books by individuals and organisations will makethe point clear:

(i) "Any person can import technical and scienti-fic books permissible for import under theImport trade control policy in force from thetime of importation upto a C. I.F. value ofRs.500/- at any time for his own use".

(ii) "Technical and scientific books permiss iblefor import under the Import trade controlpolicy in force at the time of importation byan educational, technical and researchinstitute or university recognised by UGCfor its own use provided the C. I. F. value ofsuch goods imported in a financial year shallnot exceed 10,000 rupees and applicationsare made through UGC".

Much has been written and discussed aboutthe problems of periodicals acquisition in Indianlibra~es but very little has been done to point nut aright method of acquisition according to the present-day situation. Even the IASLIC's Lucknow Con-ference (1975) has failed to bring a definite sugges-tion to solve the problem. Some favoured the agencysystem, and very few have favoured the directsubscription system. The general apathy to directsubs cription system is on the plea that corres-pondence work and postage is increased. However,all accept the merits inherent in it. Much has been

DIRECT SUBSCRIPTION01RECTDIA LOGUE WITH PUBLISHERS

Fig .11

61

ABDUL GHANI

said about the State Trading Corporation (STC )which has yet to streamline its business on modernlines.

Though direct subs cription system involvesa greater correspondence work, too many invoices,too many drafts, heavy postage costs and directdealings with banks for obtaining drafts, this is stillconsidered advantageous for reasons like securityof money paid and supply of material ordered for,especially when no other successful system isavailable.

The correspondence work, however, can bestreamlined to a certain extent by devising suitableforms like reminders, renewal notices, paymentforwarding letters etc.

5. PROCEDURES INVOLVED IN DIRECTSUBSCRIPTION SYSTEM

When it is decided that certain titles are tobe added to the subscription list of a library, letterscalling for an invoice for arranging payment can beissued. On receipt of a handful of invoices, lettersa long with form" An duly filled in for is sue ofdrafts in foreign currencies should be sent to thebank. These forms are obtainable from the concer-ned banks.

The banker s usually insist on separate form"A" for each beneficiary. That means one form" A"for each invoice needs to be prepared. To avoidthis unnecessary duplication of work and waste ofenergy, the bankers may be convinced to accept oneform" A" for the total sum of invoices in a particubrcurrency. For example, if ten invoices in dollarcurrency are received, their listing showing thebeneficiaries' names, addresses and the amounts forwhich the drafts are sought, with the total at thebottom and form" A" for that total sum Should beattached with the .letter addressed to the bankers foris sue of drafts. The SENDOC has such an arrange-ment with the bankers.

When the drafts are received from the bank,they are forwarded to the concerned publishers afterma king payment entrie s in the internal recordingsystem. Most of the publishers wish that a copy ofthe invoice should accompany the payment and it isalways better to do so to ensure proper entering ofsubscriptions.

To test the efficiency of the system, thefollowing study carried out on a few selected titlesof periodicals subs cribed to by SENDOC and twoother libraries in Hyderabad, using three differentsystems, reveals the superiority of the direct sys-tern both on cost commitment and supply position.

6. PERIODICALS ACQUISITION IN SENDOC

SENDOC subscribes to 1,160 periodicals,both Indian and foreign, covering a wide field of

62

Scien::e and Technology, Social Sciences includingManagement. Besides this it receives about 20national and state newspapers and has affiliation asan institutional member with ten national and inter-national organisations. All subs criptions· aredirected to the publishers since 1972.

The steady growth of periodicals acquisitionsince 1971 is shown in the following table:----------------N-o~-~{p-e~i~di~al;

Year received

1971 2601972 3501973 4501974 650

___~1Z~ }}j_~ _The countrywise distribution of the periodi-

cals currently received in SENDOC is as follows:

Table: Distribution by country of periodicalsin the current acquisition list-----------------------------------------------No. of

Country Periodicals-----------------------------------------------AustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumCanadaChileEthiopiaFederal Republic of GermanyFranceGhanaGreeceHong KongHungaryIndia lincluding 19 dailies)IranItalyJamaicaJapanKenyaLebanonMalawiMalaysiaMoroccoNetherlandsNigeriaNorwayPapua and New GuineaPhilippinesSierra LeoneSingaporeSri LankaSwedenSwitzerlandTanzania (including a daily)ThailandUKUREUSAW. GermanyZambia

33'2

?10I52?5I

10I

550233

1581

27I

128II3I52I

1031

229I

249?4

Ann Lib Sc i Doc

ACQUISITION OF PERIODICALS

The function of the pe r iod ica Is section in aDocumentation Centre is entirely different fromthat of an academic or research institution. Inother words, its role is changing according to therequirements of the personnel in the organisation.For instance, a library attached to an academicinstitution records and displays the periodicals afterreceipt and ultimately when a volume is completed,it is got bound and shelved permanently on thestack for future reference whenever demanded.So also in a research library. After recordingsome libraries prefer to circulate the journalsamong selected readers, while some librariesonly duplicate tables of contents and distributethem enabling the readers to select the articles oftheir choice and request issues for a short loan.

The situation is, however, different fromthe above in a documentation centre since its mainpurpose is to store the information for timelyretrieval. The periodicals received here have toundergo many processes such as distribution amongthe staff member s for preparing abstracts, typingthem on cards and filing them in cabinets. Theperiodicals are finally shelved in their respectiveplaces.

In SENDOC, after recording, the currentissues of periodicals are kept in display and theimmediate previous issues are removed fromdisplay and sent to the members of the staff forscanning arid preparing abstracts of pertinentarticles. The periodicals are then routed throughthe typing pool for taking all abstracts on 3.5 cm x10 cm catalogue cards. These cards are inter-field in the CIF (Central Information File), a database for information storage. Finally the issuesare shelved in their respective places.

Since periodicals are the main source ofinformation to be stored and disseminated, the backissues need to be provided frequently to the readersand staff members for reference and answeringqueries or to furnish the photocopies. This workhas been on the increase since the starting of theSENDOC Bulletin, a bi-monthly publication.

7. RENEWAL OF SUBSCRIPTIONS

Normally renewals are taken up in the monthof September so that all invoices are received andpaid promptly ensuring the proper supply of periodi-cals during the next year. In a library where afairly good number of titles are subscribed, it willtake tirne to issue all the renewal intimations. Forcon ven ie ncc , the issue of letters should be brokeninto groups proportionately so that the arrival ofinvoices may also be correspondingly spaced enabl-ing the librarian to process them without anyd ifficu Ity.

Usually, foreign publishers start sending therenewal notices during the same period and for suchtitle s renewal intimations can be avoided saving alittle on postage costs.

Vol 24 No 2 June 1977

Sometimes publishers fail to send the invoice.until December. These however are rare cases.Still drafts for such titles can be purchased bysubmitting the renewal cards found inserted inthese particular journals, or an issue of thatjournal itself along with the postal wrapper, ifpreserved. Since the bankers require only someauthentic documentary evidence through which it canbe a scertained that the journal is imported and thesubscription amount claimed is correct, the parti-culars given in the above will satisfy them for therelease of foreign exchange.

Sometimes drafts made in such a way arer'eceived back, if the subscription rates are enhancedand the draft made is insufficient to cover the fullperiod of supply. These too are rare cases. Forsuch titles, another draft for the difference o Iamount can be purchased by submitting the letter ofthe publishers through which the difference hasbeen c la imed.

Due care should be taken while sendingcommunications and' payments of subscriptions tojournals for whom exclusive agents have beenappointed in India. If orders for such journals aresent directly. they may be redirected to such agentsthus wasting time and money. Hence care shouldbe taken. The following are some of the publisherswith their respective Indian agents:

I. Plenum Publish-ing Corporation

India Book House, Bombay

2. Mar cel Dekker -do -

3. Academic Pres sIncorporated -do -

4. Gordon 8. Breach -d o -

5. OECD 8. FAO Oxford Book 8. StationeryCo .• New Delhi

6. McGraw-HillPublications

Their representative atBombay.

7. ILO Publications ILO, New Delhi

8. UNESCOPublications

Or ient Longman/OxfordBook 8. Stationery Co.

8. REMINDERS

There is hardly any library which can claimto have received all issues of periodicals subscribedto in a year. Missing of issues is bound to occurfor many reasons like computer mistakes. los;"inpostal transit etc. which are beyond our contral.An alert librarian can only undertake the challengeof" chasing" missing issues and try his best to get

63

0'0£>

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF COST COMMITMENT ON CERTAIN TITLES ACQUIREDIN THREE DIFFERENT LIBRARIES USING THREE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS DURING 1974

TITLE DIRECT **FOREIGN AGENT LOCAL AGENTSubs. Equ. in No.of No. of Subs. Equ. in No.of No. of *Subs. Rate No. of No. of issueRate Rs. Rem. issue Rate Rs. Rem. issue claimed Rem. mtas Ing inf/>/.£ sent in m.i.s s ing s / .£ sent in rn is sing by Agent sent in a yearoths. a year in a year oths. a year in a year Rs. a year

Adm. Sc. Quarterly s 20.00 164.06 2 - - - - 288.00 1Am. Jrl. of Soc iology s 16.00 131. 20 2 - f} 16.00 131.20 - - 144.00 1 No supplyAslan Survey f} 19.00 155.80 3 - f$ 19.00 155.80 1 - 177 . 00 2Beh.Science f} 19.00 155.80 2 f$ 19.00 155.80 2 - 171. 00 2Br. Jr1. of Soc iology £. 5.00 94.40 - £. 5.00 94.40 - 81. 00 2 2Data Processing £. 9.00 169.92 1 - - - - 172..00 1Data Systems s: 8.00 151. 09 - - - - 176.00 - 3 >Encounter £. 4.95 93.46 3 - - 99.00 2 No supply bIEuropean Busines s f/> 20.00 164.06 2 - - - 180.00 1 No supply t:Jc::Factory if> 35.00 287. 11 3 - - - - - 315 .:00 1 4 t"H.B.R. - 153.00 - - - - - 162.00 3 1 0Human Organisation f/> 21. 00 172.20 - - $ 21. 00 172.20 - - - - - :x:>Human Relations If> 40.00 328.00 1 - £. 21. 69 409.50 1 - - - ZInternational Mgt. £. 10.00 188.85 225.00 2 4

•...- - - - - -Jrl.ofApplied P sy. $25.00 205.08 1 - if> 25.00 205.08 1 225.00 1 2Jrl. of Documentation £. 12.50 236.00 2 - £. 12.80 241. 66Jrl. of Pol. Economy if> 21.00 172.20 2 - f$21.00 172.20 - 189.00 2Listener £. 12.00 226.56 - - £. 13.78 260. 16 2Long Range Planning £. 10.00 188.85 1 - - - 200.00 2Management Accounting £ 2.45 46.25 - - - - 49.00Management Science $ 32.00 262.34 1 - - - 288.00 1Occ upational P sy. £. 7.50 141. 64 3 - - 150.00 2Operations Re s i Ot ly . if> 21. 00 172.19 1 - - - 200.00 2Popular Science f} 9.50 77.93 - - - 85.50Rural Soc io logy f1 16.00 131. 20 I - f/> 16.00 131. 20 2 I 108.00 2 No supplySoc:iological Absts. f} 70.00 574.00 1 - f$100.00 820.00 1Work Study & Mgt.Ser. £. 8.~0 151.09 - - - 164.00 2 No supply

>;S;S if> @ Re.~. 20 **Some foreign agents now de- *The agent has quoted ther' £ @ Rs.18 88 ma nd upto 201. handling charges subscription in Rs , only0-en~o0o

ACQUISITION OF PERIODICALS

them replaced through the publishers or by Bomeother means like duplicate exchange wherever suchfacilities prevail. The Duplicate Exchange Unionformed recently by the Vikram Sarabhai Library inthe Indian tnstitute of Management, Ahmedabad,can play an important role when it becomes effect-ively operative.

The reminders for missing issues should besent promptly 80 that the issues may not go out ofstock. For this a good recording system can alertfor the missing of an issue when it becomes due.

In SENDOC, reminders are issued whereverwarranted while recording the periodicals daily,and again, once in a month on checking thoroughly.The period between two previous issues receivedand recorded in the library is treated as a nor ma ldelivery time. If the issue is not received withinaround that gap, a reminder is rushed. There areprinted reminder cards which are filled in and sent.Usually the response to the reminders is quitee'lcouraging especially in case of foreign publi-cations.

A survey based on reminders sent formissing issues during 1974 reveals as under:

C~~~;y-----------N~;;b;;-of-p;;io-:-N~~-;f~~~----dica ls in the list minders sent------------------------------------------------

India 338 381

UK/USA/othercounfries

Total312650

--------------------------~---------------------

Vol 24 No 2 June 1977

9. CONCLUSION

Though direct acquisition of periodicals frompublishers means some extra cost and administrativework, this can still be considered a better ~ thod ofacquisition of periodicals. It is, however, a knownfact that for direct acquisition, planning is a mustand delay brings many problems, such as, interrup-tions in supplies. The system will work smoothlyas long as both the parties, namely, the publishersand the libraries perform their duties efficiently.

REFERENCES

[l) Gidwani, N. N.: Problems faced by Indian.librarians in acquiring current periodicals,ILA Bulletin, 1971, 7(3)" 85-91

[2) India, Ministry of Commerce: Import TradeControl Policy, V.l, Delhi, Controller ofPublications, 1974, p.308.

[3) Lakhanpal, S. K.: Serials acquisition _headache or cha Ileng e , Indian Librarian,1973, 25(3), 117-25.117 125.

[4) Strauss, L.J. et al: Scientific and technicallibraries; their organizations and administra-tion, N -,Y., lnterscience, 1964, p.124-127.

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