For immediate release | September 10, 2010

"Fundamentals" web courses from ALCTS this fall

91´«Ã½

CHICAGO - Register now for the popular “Fundamentals” Web courses beginning in October offered by The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). Coming are the Fundamentals of Acquisitions course, the Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, the new Fundamentals of Preservation and the Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions. Registration is limited for each course, so now before they sell out!

Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management

Oct. 4–Oct. 29 & Nov. 15–Dec. 17

This four-week online course addresses the basic components of collection development and management (CDM) in libraries. The course was developed by Peggy Johnson, University of Minnesota. It provides a complete definition of collection development and collection management. It also addresses:

  • Collections policies and budgets as part of library planning;
  • Collection development (selecting for and building collections);
  • Collection management (evaluating and making decisions about existing collections, including decisions about withdrawal, transfer, preservation);
  • Collection analysis—why and how to do it;
  • Outreach, liaison, and marketing;
  • Trends and some suggestions about the future for collection development and management.

Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions

Nov. 15–Dec. 10



This four week online course provides an overview of acquiring, providing access to, administering, supporting and monitoring access to electronic resources. Gives a basic background in electronic resource acquisitions, including product trials, licensing, purchasing methods and pricing models, and will provide an overview of the sometimes complex relationships between vendors, publishers, platform providers and libraries. The course was developed by Dalene Hawthorne, head of systems and technical services, Emporia State University.

Fundamentals of Acquisitions

Oct. 11–Nov.

Four week online course that focuses on the basics of library acquisitions:

  • Goals and methods of acquiring monographs and serials;
  • Financial management of library collections budgets;
  • Relationships among acquisitions librarians, library booksellers, subscription agents, and publishers.

This course provides a broad overview of the operations involved in acquiring materials after the selection decision is made.

In FOA, we distinguish between collection development, which involves the selection of materials for the library, and acquisitions, which orders, receives and pays for those materials. In many libraries, selecting and acquiring materials may be done in the same department—in the smallest libraries perhaps even by the same person. In larger libraries, selection may be done by a collection development department and/or designated subject specialists, while a separate department acquires the selected materials. Acquisitions, in essence, is the business side of bringing materials into the library or licensing access to library resources.

Fundamentals of Preservation

Oct. 25–Nov. 19

Four week online course that introduces participants to the principles, policies and practices of preservation in libraries and archives. It is designed to inform all staff, across divisions and departments and at all levels of responsibility. Provides tools to begin extending the useful life of library collections.

Course components:

  • Preservation as a formal library function, and how it reflects and supports the institutional mission;
  • The primary role of preventive care, including good storage conditions, emergency planning, and careful handling of collections;
  • The history and manufacture of physical formats and how this impacts on preservation options;
  • Standard methods of care and repair, as well as reformatting options;
  • Challenges in preserving digital content and what the implications are for the future of scholarship.

To register, complete the online registration form for the session you would like to attend available in ALCTS Events.

Registration fee is $109 for ALCTS members and $129 for non-members.

LSSC Approved

The preservation, collection development and management and acquisitions courses are part of a three-part Collection Management elective course approved by the Library Support Staff Certification Program. To meet the course requirements, LSSC Candidates must successfully complete: Fundamentals of Acquisitions, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management and Fundamentals of Preservation. For more information on the Program, go to and click the LSSCP icon.

For more information, contact Julie Reese, ALCTS Events Manager, at jreese@ala.org.

ALCTS is a division of the 91´«Ã½.

Contact:

Charles Wilt