What's New, What's Hot??

Much of the discussion about library acquisitions' evolving role comes out of shrinking library budgets and emerging publishing technology and media. Books are no longer "out of print" like they used to be; ebooks are becoming increasingly important as complements and occasionally substitutes for the academic monograph; and publishers and third party vendors are beginning to use libraries to reach customers directly. Rightly, the academic library's role in linking its users to research is being challenged and is evolving.

To me, it seems the seeds of our future have been sown. But, as trees look nothing like the seeds from which they grow, our future may not resemble the current state of acquisitions. Ebooks are becoming more like books every day in the way they are purchased and "checked out," for example. However, the technology on which ebooks are built contains potential--and limitations--that a print book does not have, namely dynamic content and non-linear reading. The Open Access movement and news that many university presses are struggling suggest a coming radical shift in the academic conversation, particularly in the humanities.

Academic libraries' budgets for books have remained large, relative to the cost of disseminating the information on which they've been spent. Acquisitions departments and library vendors have benefited mutually from funds spent on research needs; both parties have a vested interest in continuing access to this relatively steady funding.

As funding dries up, we are all challenged to prove our worth to (in many cases) taxpayers and researchers. In the future, proving our worth will mean remaining flexible and shifting with evolutions in research, applying our skills to new endeavors and revising old notions of ownership, collection development, and so on.