Fostering Collaborative Selection and Acquisitions: A

Key to Cost-Effective andQuality Resources

ELVIRA B. LAPUZeblapuz@gmail.com

Library relations in the form of:

• Companionship

• Collaboration

• Association

• Cooperation

• Alliances

• Fraternization-- Anglada, 2007

Collaborations and Partnerships

• “When you cannot go at it alone and succeed, collaboration becomes a prerequisite to effectiveness”; it is natural for institutions to “come together to assemble sufficient collective confidence, knowledge, financial resources or political power to enable them to be effective” (Austin, 2000, Harvard Business School)

The advent of user collaborative technology provides new ways to address readers/reference services. The same spirited, innovative thinking that catapulted Web 2.0 services to the forefront in many academic libraries can also reinvigorate how libraries and information centers develop partnerships. – Arlante, 2008

Resource Sharing

• Most likely outcome of consortia efforts

• Activities engaged in jointly by a group of libraries for the purposes of improving services and/or cutting costs

• Maybe established by informal or formal agreement or by contract

• May operate locally, nationally or internationally

Collaborative activities to include:

• Cooperative collection development

• Coordinated acquisitions

• Joint acquisitions

• Shared collection information-- Evans and Saponaro, 2005

Cooperative collection development

• Two or more libraries agreeing that each shall have certain areas of “primary collecting responsibility”

• Exchange of materials with one another free of charge

• i.e., Farmington Plan

»Scandia Models

Coordinated Acquisitions

• Two or more libraries agreeing to buy certain materials and/or share the cost/s and one or more members gets to keep to keep and maintain the material

• i.e, LACAP/CRL model

Joint acquisitions

• Member libraries place a joint order for a product or service, and each member receives the product/service

• i.e, agreements for e-databases subscriptions

Shared collection information

• Members use information in a shared database about collection holdings to influence their selection and acquisitions decisions

• Has some form of document delivery for Inter-Library Loans

• i.e, linked OPACs

Gains and benefits of cooperation and collaboration

• Increased and improved access • Makes it possible to stretch limited

resources

• Greater staff specialization

• May reduce the number of places a customer will need to go for services

• Improved working relationships among cooperating libraries

It’s all about building NETWORKS

Local Library Networks• DOST-ESEP Library Network• Inter-Institutional Consortium (IIC) or South Manila

Consortium

• Mendiola Consortium• Intramuros Library Consortium• Health Research and Development Information Network

(HERDIN)• Association of Research and Academic Library

Information Network (ARALIN)• Ortigas Center Library Consortium Inc.• Philippine Association of Academic and Research

Libraries Network (PAARLNET)

PAARL Book Acquisition Consortium

• Select library vendor (YBP)

• Quote titles at list or publisher’s price

• Cater to libraries regardless of size

• Each member library with separate account and given 5-10% discount

• Door to door delivery

• NO shipping and handling charges

Why collaborate?

• In the world of academic and research libraries, collaboration and partnerships should pave the way for the sharing, efficient collecting and managing cooperatively of resources and for the more effective means of achieving of long-term preservation goals

Source: http://www.scls.info/danecollections/images/imagemap.jpg

Exercise: Creating a Partnership Plan

Instructions: Working in a designated small group:

1. Choose a recorder to capture ideas on chart or paper.

2. Group members are potential partners and by answering the questions, you will develop a long-term partnership plan

3. Choose a group member to summarize highlights for class.

Questions!a. What is the seed idea—the initial vision—for

the partnership? (Goals and Objectives)b. What’s in it for the library? c. What’s in it for the partner?d. Which staff members need to be included?e. What is needed in terms of staff time and

cost? Whose jobs will the partnership affect?

f. Who needs to be informed about this partnership (Administration, users, benefactors, etc.

The development of organizations and groups of organizations depends on their ability to work togetherand to establish a framework in which individual goals are attained thanks to external achievementsor situations. Libraries are no exception to this!

-- Anglada, 2007

ELVIRA B. LAPUZUniversity of the Philippines

eblapuz@gmail.com