LTA Collection Management and Acquisitions 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes an 'approval plan' in acquisitions?
- A patron requests an item and the library decides whether to buy it
- A vendor automatically sends books matching a library's profile for review or purchase (Correct answer)
- A committee approves each purchase before an order is placed
- The library pre-approves a vendor's entire catalog for automatic purchase
Correct answer: A vendor automatically sends books matching a library's profile for review or purchase
An approval plan is an agreement where a vendor ships new titles matching a library's subject and format profile, which the library can keep or return.
Question 2: What is 'deaccession' in library collection management?
- Adding new items to the collection
- The formal process of removing items from the collection permanently (Correct answer)
- Temporarily withdrawing items for repair
- Transferring items to a branch library
Correct answer: The formal process of removing items from the collection permanently
Deaccessioning is the official process of permanently removing an item from the library's collection, which may involve discarding, selling, or donating the item.
Question 3: A library's fiscal year ends June 30. Unspent funds cannot be carried over. This is called:
- Encumbrance
- Fund lapsing (Correct answer)
- Budget reallocation
- Line-item transfer
Correct answer: Fund lapsing
Fund lapsing means any budget money not spent or encumbered by the end of the fiscal year is forfeited and cannot be used in the next budget cycle.
Question 4: Which of the following is NOT typically a responsibility of a Library Technical Assistant in acquisitions?
- Verifying order records in the ILS
- Negotiating multi-year license agreements with vendors (Correct answer)
- Processing invoices and checking for billing errors
- Maintaining vendor files and contact information
Correct answer: Negotiating multi-year license agreements with vendors
Negotiating license agreements is typically handled by librarians or administrators, while LTAs support acquisitions through clerical and technical processing tasks.
Question 5: What is 'bibliographic verification' in the ordering process?
- Confirming that an item has been shelved correctly
- Checking that an item's title, author, ISBN, and other details are accurate before ordering (Correct answer)
- Verifying that a vendor's invoice matches the purchase order
- Ensuring an item is listed in the library catalog
Correct answer: Checking that an item's title, author, ISBN, and other details are accurate before ordering
Bibliographic verification involves checking an item's identifying information against authoritative sources to ensure the correct edition or format is ordered.
Question 6: A library subscribes to an electronic database. The contract specifies 'simultaneous users.' This means:
- All library staff must use the database at the same time
- Only a set number of users can access the database at once (Correct answer)
- The database can only be used during library open hours
- Access is limited to one designated computer terminal
Correct answer: Only a set number of users can access the database at once
A simultaneous user limit restricts how many people can be actively logged into or using a database at the same time.
Question 7: When a library 'transfers' a low-use item to off-site storage, this is best described as:
- Permanent removal from the collection
- Moving the item to a remote facility while retaining ownership and catalog record (Correct answer)
- Donating the item to another library system
- A temporary loan to another branch for display
Correct answer: Moving the item to a remote facility while retaining ownership and catalog record
A transfer to storage moves low-use items to a remote or high-density location to free prime shelf space, while the library retains ownership and the catalog record remains active.
LTA Collection Management and Acquisitions 4
Which of the following best describes an 'approval plan' in acquisitions?