Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory, Vol. 8. pp. I2 I - 122. I984 0X4-6408/ 84 $3.00 + .OO

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ALA MID WINTER CONFERENCE, I984

RTSD RS ACQUISITIONS COMMITTEE: A REPORT ON THE MEETINGS OF

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8 AND MONDAY, JANUARY 9

TYLER MILLER

LA PT Editorial Staff

The RTSD RS Acquisitions Committee meeting was called to order by Patrick Ashley, Northwestern University, who presided as actingchairperson, thecurrent chairperson, Gail Kennedy. University of Kentucky, having just given birth to a boy on January I. Committee members present were Linda Pletzke, Library of Congress; Caroline Early, George Washington University; Marcia Tuttle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Marilyn Wilson, University of California at San Diego; Lorry Zeugner, University of Notre Dame; and, Dana Alessi, Blackwell North America. At the first meeting Ashley introduced thecommitteemembersand thenannounced that thedatesforthe R! Acquisitions Committee meetings in Dallas will be June 24 and June 25.

Bill Schenck, chairperson of the Bookdealer-Library Relations Committee and the RTS‘ representative to the Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Publishing Discounts read the revision of tl so-called. Scilken resolution [see report on Booksellers Group, this issue] and pointed out that t resolution essentially meant that “publishers can sell to everyone at the same discount.” Also, said Schenck, there is a need for acquisitions librarians to be better educated. Ashley used Schenck’s last point to start a discussion on workshops and programs of interest to acquisitions librarians, pointing out that programs need to be supported by various groups, not just RTSD. Referring to a sheet passed out at Midwinter listing meetings on cataloging during the conference. a suggestion was made to do something similar for acquisitions-related meetings. If information could be obtained early enough, one vendor said he could use his mailing lists to target mailings. Everyone agreed that it is important to notify people early.

Marcia Tuttle spoke on the workshop, “Who’s Afraid of Serials,” scheduled as a one-day preconference at Dallas. She discussed its sponsors, registration fees, and various other details. The RS Acquisitions Committee has agreed to be a co-sponsor for this program.

Linda Pletzke spoke about the report of the Collection Management and Development Committee. The new draft of this report has both a bibliography section and a statistics section, and a final draft is expected by summer. It was suggested by Pletzke that someone come up with a glossary of definitions for those with no knowledge of acquisitions. The RS Acquisitions Committee could help do this.

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Discussion then moved to the possibility of writing guidelines for automated acquisitions systems. While this would be helpful to those interested in selecting these systems, Marilyn Wilson pointed out that it would be a massive undertaking. Pius, with technology moving so fast, it would be hard to keep up. Several committee members had seen a bibliography on automated acquisitions, which had been compiled for internal use at OCLC. The committee discussed the possibility of compiling an updated and annotated bibliography to OCLc’s. [in a call to OCLC, Luba Heinemann, who compiled this bibliography, indicated that it is now out-of-date.- EdiforS note.] Dana Aiessi pointed out that, at last count, Blackwell North America had identified 34 different automated acquisitions systems, and the field keeps growing. The problem is two-fold: the need to define the different systems, and to keep the list updated. New enhancements need to be identified. The committee decided a bibliography and/or checklist would be valuable. A sheet was then passed around for anyone interested in being on a subcommittee to compile a bibliography, checklist, or both.

Discussion next concerned the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Publishing Discounts. Aiessi said they “owed Bill Schenck [their] gratitute for carrying the banner for RTSD.” Problems that have been revealed are: adequately educating acquisitions librarians, and providing a representative voice for people in children’s, adult and public librarianship. A substitute resolution offered to the Scilken revision was that ALA sponsor an educational workshop on book publishing. The RS Acquisitions Committee felt that perhaps they could do a program or preconference on this topic. One committee member pointed out that the type of librarian the program is trying to reach doesn’t come to ALA, so perhaps regional workshops would be more appropriate. The advantages, including lower transportation costs and possible hook-ups with state conferences, were then discussed.

The first meeting then concluded around plans for a workshop and/ or preconference for Chicago in 1985. Suggested topics were discounts, vendor expectations, prepayment, and cancellation policies. It was felt that this workshop shouldn’t be limited to a specific topic, but rather should cover a broad spectrum. This is especially important if this program is to be adapted for regional workshops in the future. The appeal should be to new librarians, with the opportunity for experienced librarians to share their knowledge. A day-long conference would also keep costs down. The committee was charged to come up with some concrete suggestions for the next day’s meeting.

The second meeting began Monday at 9:30 a.m. Ashley asked for possible program plans for Chicago. Topics suggested included collection development, monograph acquisitions, trends in automation, publishes concerns, or~ni~tion of acquisitions depa~ments, and book purchasing strategy. Again, committee members felt that topics should be broad and general for later adaptation as a regional workshop. Formats discussed included lectures, panels and small discussion groups, with participation from acquisitions librarians, publishers, and vendors. One member of the audience said it should be geared to a broad audience, including public and school librarians, as well as full-time and part-time acquisitions librarians. Mindful of the upcoming serials preconference in Dallas, committee members suggested that their program emphasize monographs.

Discussion then concluded around a proposed format for a program with the possible title: “Acquisitions: What It Is and How It Works.” Consensus seemed to favor a day-long conference- within-a-conference, possibly with four sessions dealing respectively with (1) publishing; (2) acquisition of materials, including how acquisitions departments are organized; (3) publisher and vendor perspectives, with emphasis on operations personnel; and (4) types of acquisitions, for example, serials, out-of-print, AV, etc. Emphasis would be placed on what shooed take place, not necessarily how each participant’s organization works at present. Sponsors, budget, advertising, speakers, date, time and other details will be worked out in the future, with final responsibility resting with Gail Kennedy.