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ACQUIRING OUT-OF-PRINT MONOGRAPHS AND SERIALS Revised: August 1997
Note: These procedures do not address photoprint requests or non-commercial microfilm acquisition, which are functions performed in the Conservation Department. Those functions are currently under review. Procedures will be written when the review has been completed.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this section is to familiarize branch processing staff with how the Library acquires out-of-print monographs and serials. Questions regarding out-of-print search orders or acquisition of commercial microform material may be referred to the Collection Core Services Division, Technical Services Department. Questions regarding photoprint requests (including missing page requests see BPM procedure on Missing Pages) or non-commercial microfilm acquisitions should be directed to the Conservation Department.
BACKGROUND
There are three options available for acquiring material which has been determined to be out-of-print (o.p.).
One important consideration is the copyright status of the work in question. It is the responsibility of the institution that wants to acquire a reproduction of copyrighted material to secure permission to do so from the copyright holder, whether or not that institution actually produces the copy. The necessity of securing such permission before making or acquiring a photoprint or microfilm copy may be a factor in deciding to try searching for a used copy first. There are some situations, however, where such permission is not required by law. Currently, the Conservation Department is responsible for securing copyright clearance on material for which the selector has requested a non-commercial reproduction.
Other factors which may affect a selector's decision to pursue the acquisition of an out-of-print title are: the cost of the various o.p. formats, the availability of another intact original to copy, and the time involved in procuring a copy. Different titles will be more or less suitable for the different types of o.p. acquisition, depending on age, size, condition, and format. Even if an o.p. format is selected and the order pursued, the Library may not always be able to acquire the material.
When material is determined to be out of print, either in the course of preorder bibliographic checking by the Collection Core Services Division, or via vendor response to a firm order, an out-of-print search order will be placed if the selector has designated an o.p. treatment of search (s) on the original order request.
Because fulfillment of o.p. orders is uncertain, no money is liened at the time of ordering, although the selector must designate a fund which is keyed into the order record. If material is received on the order, it is charged to the fund designated on the order.
For monographs, the Collection Core Services Division has a list of vendors who will search for out-of-print material. O.P. search orders are vendor coded depending on the country of publication of the material requested. Domestic-imprint orders are sent to a single vendor, currently Argosy Books, and remain active for approximately 4 months from the time of ordering. If Argosy cannot supply the material within that time, the order is cancelled. Foreign-imprint books are sent to a vendor appropriate to the country of publication and remain active for approximately a year from the time of ordering. If the vendor cannot supply the material within that time, the order is cancelled.
For serial issues and volumes, the Collection Core Services Division uses a single vendor, currently Absolute Backorder Service. To fill our order requests, this vendor checks the publisher's stock, its own inventory of back issues and volumes, and other used periodical dealers' inventory. Unfilled orders are cancelled after one year. In order to prevent internal misrouting and to streamline the acquisition process, serial issues and volumes are received and processed in the Collection Core Services Division.
Out-of-print orders for which the selector has designated an o.p. treatment of photoprint (p) on the original order request will be routed from the Technical Services Department to the Conservation Department for photoprint acquisition.
[remainder to be written by Conservation Department]
When a selector designates an o.p. treatment of microform (m) on an order request, the Collection Core Services Division will check for commercially available microfilm or microfiche if a paper edition is not available. Out-of-print orders for which no commercial microform exists will be routed from the Technical Services Department to the Conservation Department for microfilm acquisition.
[remainder to be written by Conservation Department]