Acquisition

LIBRARY ACQUISITION POLICY

SMS Varanasi Library has a fairly simple book procurement procedure.

Book selection:
It has been normal for the SMS faculty and to certain extent, students to take part in book selection in the Library. Publishers and Vendors are increasingly providing electronic lists of titles available for purchase, printed catalogues and other printed announcements. These are being forwarded to the LCC / Faculty members from time to time. Besides catalogues, book reviews in important magazines/newspapers and databases are also a basis for recommending books for the library. The library also circulates reviews of books to the faculty to keep them informed about new arrivals.

Book Purchasing Procedure:
The Faculty and students can recommend books and other publications for purchase to the Central Library. It is desired that the list of books requisitioned by the Faculty for purchase be always routed through the Library Coordination Committee. The requisitions of students can be got approved by the concerned faculty and/or the Coordinator of LCC in consultation with the Librarian.

The Library would then check for duplication and place the list of recommended books before the LCC for its review. Some very urgent requirements of books forwarded by the Deans/Chairpersons of respective Centres may be purchased with the forward of Coordinator of the LCC and approval by the Director.

Once approved by the LCC for purchase, library staff re-checks the library OPAC/records to eliminate any duplicate orders etc.

The Library then prepares the final list of books and obtains financial sanction for their acquisition from the Executive Secretary through the Director.

On the recommendations of the faculty the Library may purchase multiple copies of only those books which are found to be in great demand but not more than 10 copies of any book are procured at a given time. Additions of the new editions takes place as and when the books get available with our supplier(s) based not only in Varanasi but also in Lucknow and New Delhi.

A system of online ordering of books and/or purchase of books by Faculty during their visits to other cities/abroad also exists. Whenever, the faculty are in need of books urgently, they may purchase books for the library from online book stores or through any of the leading book-stores using their own credit/debit cards after checking with the library about its non-availability and with due certification from the library to that effect. Same procedure of obtaining approval and financial sanction from the appropriate authority will be followed.

They may also be authorized to purchase books on official out-bound trips in similar way. Such requests may be processed by circulation to LCC. In such procurements discounts may or may not be available. The faculty is reimbursed full amount paid on such transactions on the basis of credit/debit card statement and the bill generated through the online transaction through a forward by the Librarian/LCC Coordinator to the Executive Secretary. The amount will be deposited in the Bank account of the concerned faculty.

Books purchased on Standing Order:

Faculty Publications:

The Library may purchase 5 copies of Faculty publications as and when the publications are brought to the notice of the Library. The financial sanction for procuring the same may be obtained from the Executive Secretary through a forward by the Librarian.

Government Publications:

Though SMS library holds all relevant and important Indian government publications, many Government documents do not reach the Library due to various reasons. Since they are immensely useful information sources for research, therefore, all important Indian government publications are placed on Standing Order. The list of such publications is to be finalized and should be approved by the LCC from time to time. The same is applicable to purchase of Encyclopedia Britannica each year (Bound volume / CD).

Bill Processing:

Once the books are received in the Library along with the bills, the price of each book and discount rates, are verified by the concerned staff in Acquisition Section. Entry for each book is made in the Accession Register which has all the relevant details of a book like its price, publisher, vendor, year of publication etc. Then the bills are processed for payment with the accession nos. entered against each item. The In-charge, Acquisition Section certifies above procedure before forwarding bill to Accounts. The bills are put up to the Librarian by In-charge, Library Administration for expenditure sanction on the basis of approval by the competent authority. The vendors are paid through local cheques or through NEFT, as the case may be, within a span of 15 days of production of the bills before the Accounts section.

Donated Reading Materials:

Constraints of space necessitate the libraries to stop accepting books from any individuals. However, SMS Library encourages variety reading and hence duly accepts donated books with proper acknowledgement to the donors and proper maintenance of Donors’ Records. Books gifted from major institutions and other individuals may be accepted depending on their utility and physical condition.

Subscription to Print/e-Journals and online Databases:

The lists of Print/e-Journals are compiled and forwarded to the respective Deans/Chairpersons of Special Centres/Senior faculty before placing them in the LCC meeting. Recommendations are received from the Deptts/Centres to subscribe/renew the Print/e-Journals. After obtaining necessary approval and sanction from the competent authority, the Print/e-Journals are subscribed/renewed through the subscription agents keeping in view their past service records. Some Print/e-Journals are also ordered directly from the publishers/vendors. In case e-resources are not available through any consortium, publishers of e-resources may be directly contacted for raising the invoice. The bills are received from the vendors along with the price proof and the proof of exchange rate as which prevails on the date of remittance to the publisher. Each Print/e-Journal is considered as a separate item in itself. The payment for each Print/e-Journals is treated as Advance Payment.

SUGGEST PURCHASE:

To suggest purchases, kindly contact to librarian at:

Ms. Pratima Bhargava
Phone: 0542-2271771/72
Mobile: 7839919846
Email: pratima@smsvaranasi.com