Library Acquisitions and Methods

  Acquisition Process for Purchased Books

The process for acquiring purchased books involves several key steps to ensure the library's collection remains current, relevant, and void of duplicates. These steps include:

1. Collation: Gathering and organizing book orders and requests from various sources to create a comprehensive list of desired acquisitions.

  2. Carding: Documenting the collated items systematically for tracking and reference purposes.

 3. Bibliographic Verification: This critical step involves confirming the bibliographic details of selected items, such as author, title, and publication information. It ensures that the items have not been previously ordered or are not already part of the collection or in the process of being added.

 4. Order Preparation: Typing and preparing the order documents for the selected books.

 5. Order Dispatch Sending the completed orders to publishers, vendors, or other sources.

 6.  Receiving Books: Upon arrival, books are received and accounted for.

 7. Consignment Check: The received consignment is meticulously checked against the order to ensure completeness and accuracy.

 8. Processing: This includes stamping, accessioning, and any other necessary steps to integrate the books into the library's collection.

  Methods of Library Acquisition

Libraries employ various methods to enrich their collections, each with its own set of practices and considerations:

 1. Purchase: The primary method for acquiring library materials, involving direct purchases from publishers, authors, vendors, or bookshops. This method accounts for the majority of library acquisitions.

 2. Gifts and Donations: Libraries often receive materials as gifts or donations from individuals, institutions, or organizations. While beneficial, it's crucial for libraries to evaluate such contributions to ensure relevance and avoid potential encumbrances.

 3. Legal Deposit: Certain libraries, often national libraries, receive copies of all or a significant portion of books published within their jurisdiction, as mandated by legal deposit legislation.

 4. Internal Generation: Especially in educational libraries, materials such as posters, drawings, and educational models can be created in-house to support specific instructional needs.

 5. Collaborative Acquisitions: Through inter-library cooperation, networking, or consortium building, libraries can access or share resources, particularly costly ones like electronic databases, to enhance their collections.

 6. Exchange: Libraries may exchange publications with other institutions that have similar interests, such as annual reports or lecture copies.

 7. Digital Downloads Acquiring digital materials through downloads from the internet, adhering to copyright laws and agreements.

 8. Bequests: Libraries may inherit materials through wills or bequests, adding unique items to their collections.

 Case Study Task

Consider the scenario where Macmillan Publishers is distributing free books to select libraries, including Hallmark Library, as part of their 20-year publishing anniversary. Discuss which acquisition method this scenario exemplifies and the considerations a library should make when accepting such materials.

- Dr Ayodele John Alonge