Presents the vendor's perspective on how libraries choose and evaluate a vendor's performance. Characteristics of vendors are described, including being profit-oriented, market-driven, and highly competitive; issues in the three basic areas of service, price, and automation are discussed; and the influence of personality is considered. (LRW)

Discussion of the decline in the purchasing power of academic libraries' acquisitions budgets focuses on why and how the acquisitions budget should be integrated into the broader library and institutional budgeting and planning process to help manage the costs of scholarly communication. Highlights include collection development and remodeling the…

Provides an overview of traditional allocation methods for academic library materials budgets and describes a study conducted at the University of Tennessee Libraries that analyzed the MARC records of highly circulated titles to discover patterns of commonality that could be used in future selection work. (Contains 10 references.) (LRW)

Describes problems facing academic libraries today concerning the amount of literature and information available, costs, copyright issues affecting ownership, and technological changes. Strategies for dealing with diminishing funds and increasing information resources are suggested, and activities at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)…

Discusses library collection evaluation and its relationship to the acquisitions budget. Topics addressed include the publishing industry; library services that are more user centered; acquisition of versus access to sources of information and knowledge; the concept of value; library accountability; objectives and setting priorities; and levels of…

Discusses changes that are occurring in academic libraries as they try to keep up with the growth in sources of information. Topics discussed include acquisitions; interlibrary loan; new technologies in libraries; library expenditures; library staff; collection development; and the need to redefine the library's role to that of an information…

Discusses how archives and library administrators' perceptions of each other's operations and administration may lead to conflicts, and how better understanding of the distinctiveness of an archive as opposed to a library may improve relations. (CLB)