Books, journals, and other information materials are acquired by libraries in a variety of ways. Some large research libraries have a staff of several selectors, or "bibliographers," whose job is to ensure adequate and balanced acquisition of materials, both current and retrospective. The UWM Libraries do not employ full-time bibliographers, but staff in the American Geographical Society Library, the Music Library, the Curriculum Library, Special Collections, and the Research and Instructional Support Department do provide subject expertise within the libraries. For discretionary purchases, faculty recommendations are relied on, usually channeled through departmental representatives or liaisons appointed by the different academic departments, research centers, and other formal programs at the university. Most book purchases, however, are made on the basis of detailed subject specifications that govern "approval plans" for acquisition of current scholarly or scientific works.

Approval plans are arrangements the Libraries make with major distributors to purchase substantial numbers of publications selected according to carefully negotiated specifications and criteria, such as subject specialization, level of academic treatment, publisher, price, reprint status, and other factors. The advantages of this form of purchase include: (1) shipment at the time of, or shortly after, publication; (2) enormous savings in staff time; (3) substantial discounts from list price.

Subject specifications, developed in consultation with UWM department representatives, vendor representatives, and library staff, are based on the Library of Congress classification system. These specifications are subject to continuous revision, in accord with changing curricular or research requirements at the university. The libraries consult with faculty and welcome faculty input concerning the relevance and quality of materials received on the basis of these profiles.

Recommendations and Firm Orders from Approval Forms

Some books fall outside the specifications of the approval plan. The reason may be high price, subject matter in a sub-discipline that is not central at UWM, marginal academic level of material that may be more suitable for a public library or individual collections, availability of the work only as part of a series to which we do not subscribe, or other considerations. For such items, the vendors send bibliographic forms or slips, which are distributed to departmental representatives. The forms are returned to the libraries' Collection Development Manager, with recommendations to purchase or not: e.g. high priority; as funds permit; quite dispensable; or perhaps more suitable for another discipline or program. Provided that funds are available, books in the first two categories are ordered.

The libraries' annual budgeting and allocation process require first setting aside funds for continuing obligations. After the libraries' capital budget has been established, and when the projected rate of national and international inflation for library materials is known (for journals this has been averaging 10-15% in recent years), it must be decided whether, and to what degree, serials cancellations will be necessary in order to continue meeting ongoing obligations as well as to continue supporting all of the university's programs. The annual cost of maintaining a fixed list of serials subscriptions would always include an amount for inflation. The reality of working with a fixed budget, conversely, is that fewer titles can be purchased each year; a flat budget has tended to be the rule rather than the exception, in recent years. About two thirds of the libraries budget for materials is spent on serials. The remainder is allocated for books and other materials. Lump sums are set aside for approval books. Whatever remains after that can be allocated for discretionary firm order purchases in support of each of the university's programs.

The amounts allocated to UWM programs depend on several factors, such as:

1. the level and size of the program;
   
   
2. the relative demand for books vs. journals;
   
   
3. the volume of publications in various disciplines.

Items purchased with program allocations include books, videos, or non-serial material in other formats, identified and recommended by faculty on the basis of bibliographic forms from vendors, publishers' flyers, reviews, etc.

Although recent budgets have not permitted extensive and systematic purchase of older materials, some items for which there is a perceived need may be acquired selectively, generally on request from faculty or, occasionally, when steeply discounted by publishers. The libraries welcome recommendations about, and donations of, needed older materials.

Attempts are made to replace books of continuing value that are missing on account of loss, theft or mutilation, or which have become decrepit from heavy use. A special budget for replacements is provided by money collected from library fines. It is not always possible to find replacements, however, because the realities of the publishing industry are that books go out of print rapidly, and used copies are often difficult to obtain.

Research libraries rarely can afford to take a complete inventory of stock, so books may be missing without coming to the attention of library staff. The libraries welcome and appreciate being notified when users cannot find books that are supposed to be in the collections. The most convenient way for users to do this is to initiate a "search" for the missing item through the libraries' on-line catalog, PantherCat, or to ask at the circulation desk for a search to be done.

Because no library can own everything that anyone might need, libraries generally have recognized and institutionalized their interdependence. As a research university, UWM must have access to large numbers of specialized materials. Because the libraries are not financially able to collect comprehensively in any subject area, research materials are borrowed from other institutions and, in turn, shared with them. For instance:

1. The Area Research Center, in UWM's Archives, provides sharing of archival material from the Wisconsin Historical Society and other Area Research Centers statewide.
   
   
2. Locally, the Cooperative Access Program initiated by UWM, Marquette University, and the Medical College of Wisconsin is intended to facilitate convenient shared access to the combined resources of the libraries of these research institutions.
   
   
3. Also in the Milwaukee metropolitan area, the Library Council of Southeastern Wisconsin, an alliance of academic, public, and corporate libraries, facilitates direct borrowing by students, faculty, and staff of member libraries.
   
   
4. Within the state of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin InterLibrary Services (WiLS) serves as negotiating agent for cooperative purchases by libraries as well as the main interlibrary loan clearinghouse for the state's academic libraries. Borrowing from other libraries, nationally or internationally when necessary, provides access to otherwise inaccessible materials.
   
   
5. UW System libraries, including UWM, participate in a program which allows students, staff, and faculty from any UW campus in the state to borrow materials from any UW library.

In keeping with the long-standing University of Wisconsin commitment to freedom of inquiry, UWM Libraries' collection policy is in accord with the principles of the Library Bill of Rights promulgated by the American Library Association:



The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
   
   
2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
   
   
3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
   
   
4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.