The Acquisitions Dept. at the Dept. of Energy Library, Headquarters (Wash., D.C. metro area) is using a VISA credit card for materials purchases (books, serials, etc.). We are a contractor operating the Library and obtained the card through our company from a commercial bank. (Federal employees have the option of using a government procurement card as well if they purchase materials on their own.)
The credit card is extremely useful for ordering items on a rush basis and foreign materials via the Internet. There are numerous issues that you must be aware of, however, before implementing the credit card as a payment option. These primarily involve reconciliation issues and card credit limits.
Statements are reconciled by our company's Accounting Department each month, and a credit card slip for each item ordered is used to assist in matching purchases with purchase orders and amounts billed. The Acquisitions staff member using the card fills out a credit slip form for each PO paid via credit (we assign a PO number to evey item ordered). This slip is photocopied so that the copy may be kept with the acquisitions paper trail for the order, and the original is sent to Accounting.
A major caveat is while it's convenient to use the card for foreign materials purchases in other currencies, you must be very careful about knowing when the charge will post because of currency fluctuations. We recently discovered that the bank we use does note the foreign currency amount (British pounds [even though the symbol preceding the amount is the dollar sign!]), the rate of exchange and the date of the exchange).
Only Acquisitions has use of the card, and the branch supervisor is the signatory on the card. Internet transactions have gone smoothly; we've not noticed any fraud or had security issues with it.
It is a must for all libraries; we can't do without it, even though it is sometimes easier to track check and deposit account payments. Refunds are trickier to deal with too when using a credit card, as are erroneous amounts billed (such as a vendor charging tax when we are tax exempt). But overall, the convenience outweighs any negative factors.
Amy C. Beitzel
Acquisitions Librarian
Dept. of Energy Library/MA-22/GTN
301 903-9285 Voice/ 301 903-3960 Fax
amy.beitzel_at_hq.doe.gov
-----Original Message-----
From: ELEANOR COOK [mailto:COOKEI_at_appstate.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 11:31 AM
To: acqnet-l_at_listproc.appstate.edu%internet
Subject: ACQNET: Credit cards
[Ed. note: Linda - you might check the ACQNET archives for earlier
discussions and I know the University of Delaware did an excellent
presentation about their implementation at a recent ALA conference]
Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 08:53:06 -0400
From: Linda Lerman <lermanl_at_elmer4.bobst.nyu.edu>
Subject: Use of Charge Cards in Acquisitions
While there's been discussion on the use of charge cards in
libraries, I'd like to ask your indulgence and assistance in
gathering current information on your institution's practice.
I'm in the process of requesting both a credit card and a campus cash
card for Acquisitions at New York University and would like to hear
about your experiences.
Is your library currently using some type of charge card to order
library materials?
If you're using a credit card, which one are you using and why?
What type of materials are being purchased on them?
Are Acquisitions' staff reconciling the monthly credit card
statements with vendor receipts/statements or is this happening in
another department in the library or elsewhere?
Is the charge card available to any other staff (i.e. selectors) or
only for the use of Acquisitions staff?
Has the use of the charge card been successful?
I'll be happy to summarize your comments for the list.
Many thanks,
Linda
Linda P. Lerman
Head, Acquisitions Department
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
New York University
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012-1091
e-mail: Linda.Lerman_at_nyu.edu
voice: 212-998-2480
fax: 212-995-4366
Received on Wed Oct 11 2000 - 13:36:40 EDT