education for acquisitions: an informal survey

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Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, Vol. 15, pp. 29-31, 1991 0364-6408/91 $3.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1991 Pergamon Press pic ACQUISITIONS IN THE WEST EDUCATION FOR ACQUISITIONS: AN INFORMAL SURVEY WILLIAM FISHER Division of Library & Information Science San Jose State University San Jose, CA 95192 In preparation for a presentation at the Acquisitions in the West Institute in May 1990, an informal survey was conducted among acquisitions personnel in libraries in California. The American Library Directory was used to identify libraries with individuals indicated as being responsible for acquisitions. From that list, 23 libraries were randomly selected-- 13 academic libraries and l0 public libraries. Each of those individuals was then sent a brief two-page ques- tionnaire. Responses were received from 12 libraries-seven from academic libraries and five from public libraries. The questions addressed a number of areas regarding the respondents' academic and on-the-job preparation for their current position, their career path to their cur- rent position, and whether they felt a course in acquisitions was needed in library schools, and, if so, what topics that course should include. About the respondents themselves, l0 of the 12 had MLS degrees. Of this group, three took a course in acquisitions in library school (for two it was a required course, the third person took a course as an elective-all three attended different schools), while one other respond- ent indicated that acquisitions was covered as part of another class taken during library school. The remaining six out of the 10, however, got no formal introduction to acquisitions during library school. What about the other two respondents? One was in the final stages of com- pleting a MLS program (now a graduate!), while the other person was not pursuing the de- gree at all. Neither of these two had any courses in acquisitions. The respondents were also asked about their continuing education efforts with regard to ac- quisitions. Most respondents indicated the Association for Library Collections and Techni- cal Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association. A number of ALCTS subunits were mentioned as being helpful, most prominent being the discussion groups for ac- quisitions administrators and for acquisitions librarians/vendors of library materials. Also mentioned frequently were the Northern and Southern California Technical Processing Groups and the California Library Association's Technical Services Chapter. Finally, networking with peers and networking with vendors were both mentioned as ways to keep current in this area. It should be noted that a number of respondents indicated that the efforts of some of these groups were only just beginning to focus on acquisitions, so they were listed more for their potential rather than actual performance to date. 29

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Page 1: Education for acquisitions: An informal survey

Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, Vol. 15, pp. 29-31, 1991 0364-6408/91 $3.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1991 Pergamon Press pic

ACQUISITIONS IN THE WEST

EDUCATION FOR ACQUISITIONS: AN INFORMAL SURVEY

WILLIAM FISHER

Division o f Library & Informat ion Science

San Jose State University

San Jose, C A 95192

In preparation for a presentation at the Acquisitions in the West Institute in May 1990, an informal survey was conducted among acquisitions personnel in libraries in California. The American Library Directory was used to identify libraries with individuals indicated as being responsible for acquisitions. From that list, 23 libraries were randomly selected-- 13 academic libraries and l0 public libraries. Each of those individuals was then sent a brief two-page ques- tionnaire. Responses were received from 12 libraries-seven from academic libraries and five from public libraries. The questions addressed a number of areas regarding the respondents' academic and on-the-job preparation for their current position, their career path to their cur- rent position, and whether they felt a course in acquisitions was needed in library schools, and, if so, what topics that course should include.

About the respondents themselves, l0 of the 12 had MLS degrees. Of this group, three took a course in acquisitions in library school (for two it was a required course, the third person took a course as an elective-all three attended different schools), while one other respond- ent indicated that acquisitions was covered as part of another class taken during library school. The remaining six out of the 10, however, got no formal introduction to acquisitions during library school. What about the other two respondents? One was in the final stages of com- pleting a MLS program (now a graduate!), while the other person was not pursuing the de- gree at all. Neither of these two had any courses in acquisitions.

The respondents were also asked about their continuing education efforts with regard to ac- quisitions. Most respondents indicated the Association for Library Collections and Techni- cal Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association. A number of ALCTS subunits were mentioned as being helpful, most prominent being the discussion groups for ac- quisitions administrators and for acquisitions librarians/vendors of library materials. Also mentioned frequently were the Northern and Southern California Technical Processing Groups and the California Library Association's Technical Services Chapter. Finally, networking with peers and networking with vendors were both mentioned as ways to keep current in this area. It should be noted that a number of respondents indicated that the efforts of some of these groups were only just beginning to focus on acquisitions, so they were listed more for their potential rather than actual performance to date.

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Page 2: Education for acquisitions: An informal survey

30 W. FISHER

It was not too surprising, then, when asked to rate their formal MLS education, continu- ing education, and on-the-job experience on a five-point scale (one = low; five = high) with regard to how well each helped prepare the respondents for their current positions, on-the- job experience scored 4.9, formal MLS education scored 2.5, and continuing education scored 2.4.

With regard to their current positions and how they got there, a variety of replies was re- ceived. For eight of the 12 respondents, acquisitions work accounted for 80°7o or more of their activity at work. A wide range of acquisitions experience was represented: two had worked in acquisitions for less than one year, four had worked from one to five years, one had worked from six to 10 years, while the remaining five each had more than 10 years experience in ac- quisitions. A variety of job titles was also represented, as the following list indicates:

Head of Acquisitions Department (4);

Acquisitions Librarian (2);

Acquisitions/Processing Manager (1);

Acquisitions Manager/Assistant Library Administrator (1);

Acting Chief of Acquisitions Department (1);

Head of Acquisitions/Preservation Librarian (1);

Principal Librarian for Support Services (1);

Senior Clerk (1).

The career paths of the respondents were not quite as varied as their job titles. One person was in their first library position and had no prior library experience. Two others indicated their previous experience was predominantly in public service areas; both moved into acqui- sitions as a result of in-house promotion/reassignment and both indicated the move was due to their overall managerial abilities and problem-solving skills rather than any knowledge of acquisitions. The remaining nine respondents all indicated that their previous positions were primarily in the technical services areas or exclusively in acquisitions.

When asked whether acquisitions should be included as part of a library school's curricu- lum, 11 of the 12 respondents indicated that it should (the other person did not respond to this question). Five of the 11 felt an acquisitions course should be required, 5 felt it should be an elective, while the last person felt acquisitions should be introduced as part of a required course, with more detailed information coming in an elective course.

The last two questions put to the respondents were what they felt were the most important issues/concerns facing acquisitions librarians today and what topics they would include in a course on acquisitions. As one might guess, those lists were rather similar. The list below presents the topics they mention with an indication of how many respondents felt it was important:

Uses of automation (7);

Vendors and how they operate (6);

Relations with publishers and/or vendors (6);

Budgeting/accounting procedures (6);

Overview of the publishing industry/book trade (5);

Page 3: Education for acquisitions: An informal survey

Education for Acquisitions 31

Relationship with collection development (4);

Organization of the acquisitions department (4);

How approval plans operate (3);

Serials (3);

Gift material (3);

Publishing life of material/out-of-print market (3);

Dealing with non-print material (2);

Ethical issues involved with acquisitions (2);

Claiming process (1);

Exchange material (1);

Academic publishing and how it operates (1);

Legal issues involved with acquisitions (1).

What does all this mean? If this sample of 12 is at all representative of people working in acquisitions, then the following conclusions can be drawn. First, those currently working as acquisitions librarians received little or no preparation for their positions during their MLS programs, and while some of the activities of ALCTS may be helpful, most acquisitions librar- ians are learning their jobs through experience as they go. Second, most of those working in acquisitions got there as a result of working primarily in technical services or exclusively in acquisitions throughout their careers; there does not seem to be a great deal of crossover. Third, there is a strong feeling that acquisitions should be part of library school curricula, however, the opinion is mixed whether this course should be required or taken at the student's discretion. Finally, there is a reasonable amount of agreement as to which topics should be taught in a course about acquisitions, especially in the areas of automation, working with ven- dors/publishers, and working with budgeting/accounting systems.

It would appear from this informal survey that both library schools and professional as- sociations could both play a more active role to help get librarians prepared to responsibly handle the acquisitions function. When one considers the millions of dollars libraries spend on materials every year, it is a role that can't be overlooked.