Taking the Ack Out of Acquisitions

Presented by

Tim SpindlerC/W Mars, Inc.

Jennifer PringleSitka

Our Acq Background

SitkaStarted in 2011 on 2.0 with 1 pilot library

13 libraries currently using or implementing acquisitions on 2.4

C/W Mars, Inc.Started in 2012 on 2.2 with 6 libraries with the migration

9 libraries currently using acquisitions on 2.4

Before You Start...

• Do you have multiple branches and is everything ordered centrally? If yes, you might want to look at creating Distribution Formulas.

• Do you plan to claim items and set up reminders for staff on claiming items a certain way when receiving purchased materials? If yes, then you want to configure Claiming.

• Do you plan to do any fund accounting or reporting? If yes, you will need to configure funds and fund sources.

• Do you want to import electronic orders and invoices?

• Will you use selection lists as part of the ordering process? If yes, will they be on the vendor site or those created in Evergreen?

• If you only want records in the OPAC to say on order, do not use acquisitions

Creating Provider : Holdings Tag

In order to load an electronic order from a vendor, you will need to have a holdings field designated from the MARC order records.

It is best to standardize this field.

Creating Provider : Holdings Subfield

Add subfield for MARC Order records.

It is good practice to standardize the holdings tag so all libraries use the same tag and subfields.

Funding SourcesUse as many as you need

Track exact amounts in general ledger

Example funding sources might be:

• a municipal allocation for your materials budget

• a trust fund used for collections

• a revolving account that is used to replace lost materials

• grant funds to be used for collections

Tip: Funding sources do not rollover as part

of year end but it is still a good idea to create

new funding sources for each fiscal year.

FundsFunds allow you to allocate credits toward specific purchases. They typically are used to track spending and purchases for specific collections.

● at least one fund is required● if you do not set the stop

percent, funds can go negative

Tip: If you want to do detailed tracking of how money is spent, it is better to have more granular funds.

Distribution Formulas

Use to easily populate lineitems in an order with appropriate copy and fund information

Selection and Adding RecordsSelection can be done on selection lists, on purchase orders, or on your vendors' websites if they provide you with MARC records.

Line Items can be added to selection lists and purchase orders by:• creating brief records• loading MARC Order Records• a MARC Federated Search (Z39.50)• loading Catalog Record IDs• View/Place Orders from within the catalogue

Tip: Try out all the different methods on a test/training server and decide what works best for your library and workflow. Many libraries use a combination.

Purchase Orders : Important Features

InvoicesInvoices can be:• created from scratch• created from line items• vendor invoices can also be • sent via EDI

Additional line items can be added by:• linking line items to invoices• searching for line items from

within the invoice

Tip: Just starting with acquisitions? Use charges to create invoices for those items you ordered last year.

Items can be received two ways:• using the Receive Items button

on the invoiceo List and Numeric modes

• using the Actions menu on the purchase order

Tip: Worksheets replace all the post-its that get stuck on items for processing and if one gets lost you can always print it out again. (Print them from the purchase order interface)

Receiving

CataloguingYour cataloguer may need to:

• update barcodes

• update call numbers

• update copy locations

• update circulation modifiers

• overlay new records via Z39.50

• load full MARC records via the MARC Batch Import/Export

• otherwise improve the MARC records

Fiscal Year EndFor a smooth rollover make sure:• all pending purchase orders are activated• all items physically received in the current fiscal year are received in Evergreen• all items to be paid for in the current fiscal year are invoiced for in Evergreen• run fund reports before and after performing year end and confirm that they are correct

Tip: You may want to implement an acquisitions freeze while you are preparing for and performing year end.

Tips, Tricks, and Advice

● Think carefully about your reasons for using acquisitions● Get a test server and play around

○ Sitka has practice exercises that anyone is welcome to use or adapt ● The reporter is your friend!● Don't panic!

○ You can update funds after a purchase order is activated, update a provider in the database, and re-open invoices

● Report bugs to launchpad

Questions?