PERSPECTIVES ON ACQUISITIONS.. .

Facing Transformation by Karen Schmidt

A cquisitions is facing transformation. This is nothing new for many areas of librarianship, but it feels new to many acquisitions librarians and their administra-

tors, both of whom face the challenges of decreased budgets, the pressures of electronic and networked information systems, and the tensions of supplying a dizzying array of products and services to users. It no longer follows, as it once so assuredly did, that selection of material would lead to the acquisition and ownership of that material. Instead, the changes and challenges we face are forcing us to see acquisitions as something beyond a technical process.

Acquisitions as a discrete area of the profession, with a defined set of work skills and a tangible and growing body of literature, is a relatively new development, reaching a high level of distinction and definition in the 1980s. It is regularly under- stood as the place where libraries order, claim, and receive the material they select; where approval plans are managed; where, increasingly, copy cataloging may be done; where the interac- tion among the vendors, publishers and libraries occurs; and where the day-to-day management of the library materials bud- get resides. In many libraries today, acquisitions is the area where licenses for electronic products may be pulled into shape, and networked services contracts are established. It is a depart- ment with a strong concentration of support staff, and few librarians. Over the past few decades, acquisitions librarians have enjoyed stable and important work, a growing market for jobs, established and respected conferences.

However, the metamorphosis facing so many components of librarianship today is there for acquisitions as well. The expan- sion of integrated systems, the availability of networked infor- mation and the introduction of new services to users have lead to reorganization and redistribution of tasks. As traditional work assignments change, will libraries need to maintain acquisitions departments, at least as traditionally configured? Probably not. Will libraries continue to need acquisitions librarians? Abso- lutely. What acquisitions librarians know and do right now will not only continue to be crucial to the success of our libraries, but also critical in the amendments we make as we continue to refine our mission and the roles we play with our users. But what should acquisitions librarians be doing to help move themselves and their organizations forward? What should administrators be doing with acquisitions and the librarians engaged in this work?

The following series of essays attempts to address the trans- formation and future directions of acquisitions. The contribu- tors include some of the librarians who have given the most in recent years to the professional growth and stature of acquisi- tions as a profession. The authors have distilled their inquiry into two parts: “Acquisitions: so what?” and “Acquisitions: where is it going?’ The answers each has arrived at separately are challenging, progressive, and surprisingly alike. Each con-

Karen A. Schmidt, is Director of Collections & Assessment,

University of lhnois at Urbana-Champaign, 1408 W. Gregory Drive,

Urbana, lhois 67807 <KARENS@U/UC.EDU~.

tributor has brought his or her own perspectives and experi- ences to the conversation, enriching our understanding of the assignment of acquisitions for our profession and the diversity of opinions among the librarians who actively work with acqui- sitions issues.

As I have interpreted my colleagues’ words and thought about the issues myself, the regular duties assigned to acquisi- tions librarians might be transcended thus:

Financial resources management: The many fiscal admin- istration skills that acquisitions librarians display-spread- sheet building and interpretation, electronic invoice pay- ment, vendor negotiation-can be used on a number of other fronts in academic libraries. Acquisitions librarians are business-savvy, sensitive to the publishing community, and armed with a working knowledge of the profit world.

Acquisition and delivery of both non-disposable and dis- posable materials: Acquiring something to keep and acquiring something to give to a user is in many aspects the same process, known well to the acquisition librarian and useful in many other aspects of library administration, including document delivery.

Negotiation and standardization of contracts and licenses: Vendor negotiation is a basic ability most acquisitions librarians cut their teeth on and can be used to great advan- tage for the acquisition of electronic resources, document delivery services, and other library initiatives.

Service sector and records management initiatives: Acquisi- tions is no longer a back room activity. Integrated library systems have brought the acquisitions record into the public sector, and with it a large amount of information that users want and need to obtain material for their research and reading. This is an additional communication tool into which acquisitions librarians are already feeding informa- tion and over which they should be able to exert some fur- ther control.

Increased personnel management: The strong concentration of staff in acquisitions makes the successful acquisitions librarian a personnel manager. The full array of personnel issues is dealt with on a regular basis in acquisitions depart- ments all over the country and could be utilized effectively in a transformed technical service area or for broader library needs.

My colleagues speak eloquently for themselves on the issues surrounding the future of acquisitions that most intrigue them. A final note: these librarians (myself included) have, for the most part, moved out of acquisitions work. But we all remain entangled and engaged in its future and keenly aware of the important skills that our acquisitions colleagues all over the world bring to their respective libraries. Library administrators are well advised to look to their acquisitions librarians for lead- ership and necessary skills in moving into the next century.

January 1998 73