no, you’ve got your collection development on my acquisitions! (anybody out there remember this old reese’s commercial?)
an acquisitions department is usually clearly defined from a collection development department, meaning those units act independently in a library. loosely described, a collection development librarian will decide what to purchase because he is familiar with what is being published in a particular area, and the acquisitions librarian places the order, pays for it, and waits by the mailbox until it is received.
at my new place of work these departments work a little more closely than i’ve seen before, with some retention decisions being granted to us in acquisitions. i think some of this has to do with a change in an old policy of retaining important subscriptions in redundant formats. now that we’re moving away from preferring microfilm as our standard archival format in favor of full-text electronic archives, acquisitions is playing a more prominent role in providing pricing information, as well as negotiating licenses and discussing usage statistics.
it’s a comfortable marriage of the two departments in this small library, and i imagine i’ll find more blurring of traditional departmental boundaries as i learn more about the library and its traditions.
