Money, Manure, Squeaky Wheels, A Paucity of Grease and Possibly Grit!

The acquisitions process in academic libraries functions optimally when adequate funds support library needs, local political realities and faculty needs and demands. It often requires careful diplomacy by acquisitions librarians to balance sharp faculty interests, but their needs and demands can and should be used to develop and enrich library collections. This process is traditional in academic libraries, and it should not be regarded as unusual. Rapidly escalating costs for serial subscription over the past five years have consumed larger and larger portions of most academic libraries acquisitions budgets. As a consequence, librarians have less funds available to balance collections. Can the library profession utilize modern technology to reduce, if not eliminate, the problem of high costs for serials? A partial solution to the serials problem is suggested.