ACQNET: RE: How came you to Acquisitions? (1 response)

Date: Tue, 07 Jun 2005 13:36:58 -0500
From: Lila Ohler (Univ. of Oklahoma)<lohler_at_ou.edu>
Subject: ACQNET: RE: How came you to Acquisitions?

I have always worked in libraries.  From my days as an undergraduate
student working part-time, I then put myself through two graduate
degrees while working as a full time paraprofessional in an academic
library Acquisitions unit.  Like many librarians, library science
was a second career (my first degree is Anthropology).

But as a result of this career change, I had years of experience as
a paraprofessional in Acquisitions, dealing at some point with
everything from monographs, serials, ILS transition/troubleshooting,
ILS problems/training, collection development, workflow analysis,
and so on.

I knew when I got my MLS that I would go into Technical Services, and
hoped very much for a position as an Acquisitions Librarian.  So, for
Ben [Beutler] and others out there, don't worry, you're not crazy for
wanting to get into Acquisitions!

I agree that Acquisitions librarians are often expected to wear many
hats, which for me means we really need to have a broad view of how
our procedures, processes, materials, and systems affect the total
picture of the library and its services. Libraries will continue to
have need of this kind of expertise.  For this reason and as a few
others here have said, I do not agree with the conventional wisdom
that Acquisitions librarians are "dying out."

>From collection development, electronic resource management,
cataloging, systems, and back again to the nuts and bolts of print
acquisitions and departmental management, it is often the case that
our formal titles may be misleading.  I see this as branching out,
rather than that Acquisitions as a library profession is dying out.

While I personally am proud to have the title "Acquisitions
Librarian," Janet Belanger said it best, "Don't let the title below
fool you.  I'm still doing Acquisitions, but now "only" for
electronic and media formats!" She is the Head of Non-Print
Management at Northeastern University Libraries, and not the first
"Acquisitions Librarian" I've noticed with a title that might not at
first suggest she is doing Acquisitions work.

Respectfully,

Lila (Angie) Ohler
Acquisitions Librarian
University of Oklahoma
Acquisitions/Serials Dept.
401 W. Brooks St.  LL211
Norman, OK  73019-0528
405-325-2141
lohler_at_ou.edu

-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 10:10:44 -0500
From: Patrick Bickers (U. of Missouri-Kansas City)< BickersP_at_umkc.edu>
Subject: ACQNET: How came you to Acquisitions?

Hello Colleagues,

Over the years, I have gotten the impression that most of us did not
start our librarian careers with the idea of being acquisitions
librarians. I became interested in acquisitions because my first
SLIS-student job was as a firm order clerk.  I would be curious to know
if most acquisitions librarians took a similar route, or if most of us
"inherited" our positions because "someone had to do it?"
Thank you for your comments.

Sincerely,

Patrick M. Bickers
Monographic Acquisitions Librarian
Miller Nichols Library
University of Missouri-Kansas City
800 East 51st Street
Kansas City, MO 64110
Phone: (816) 235-2225
Fax: (816)333-5584
email: bickersp_at_umkc.edu





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