ACQNET: RE - Where have all the Acquisitions Librarians Gone? (Another response)

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2002 10:10:44 -0400
From: Karl Bridges (Univ. of Vermont) <kbridges_at_zoo.uvm.edu>
Subject: Re: Where have all the Acquisitions Librarians Gone?

If I could add my voice:  I took Technical Services classes with Kathie
[Henderson]. Even though I've been working in reference, I've found it
very useful to understand the technical services functions and the
technical services classes I took have turned out to be among the
most useful of my library education.  I use some aspect of my
knowledge of technical services almost every day in some fashion --
ordering books, doing a periodical review, reading a MARC record to
find an item for a patron.  The uses of this kind of knowledge are
literally endless.  I would seriously consider working in technical
services
if the opportunity arose -- a feeling I wouldn't have probably if I
hadn't
gotten some knowledge of the field. Outsourcing?? In some cases
it probably is going to happen.  Especially in smaller libraries where
it probably isn't cost effective to hire full time people to do a
limited
amount of copy cataloging.  However, there still will be technical
services
librarians -- it's just that the title and responsibilities will undergo
some
mutation.

Karl Bridges
University of Vermont