COMPUTER BASED ACQUISITIONS SYSTEM AT TEXAS A&I UNIVERSITY .. Ned C. MORRIS: Texas A&I University, Kingsville, Texas. 1 In September, 1966, a system was initiated at the University which pro- vides for the use of automatically produced multiple orders and for the use of change cards to update order information on previously placed orders already on disk storage. The system is geared to an IBM 1620 Central Processing Unit ( 40K) which has processed a total of 10, 222 order transactions the first year. It is believed that the system will lend itself to further development within its existing framework and that it will be capable of handling future work loads. In 1925, the library at Texas A&l University (first known as South Texas State Teachers College and later as Texas College of Arts and Industries) had an opening day collection of some 2,500 volumes. By the end of August, 1965, the library's collection had grown to 142,362 volumes, in- cluding 3,597 volumes purchased that year. The book budget doubled in September of 1965, and the acquisitions system was severely taxed as the library added by purchase a total of 6,562 volumes. After one full year under the mechanized system discussed below, a total of 9,062 vol- umes had been added by purchase. Counting gifts, transfers, and cancel- lations, the computer actually handled 10,222 order transactions the first year. The computer-based acquisitions system now in operation was initiated in September of 1966, eleven months after the decision was made to ~echanize the process. The library had already experienced successes m computerizing the circulation and serial systems and, because a rapidly 2 Journal of Library Automation Vol. 1/ 1 March, 1968 expanding book budget had caused the old traditional type of acquisi- tions system to become unwieldy and seemingly obsolete, it seemed im- minent that the installation of a computerized acquisitions system would follow. Furthermore, it was agreed that acquisitions could make use of the computer at no additional cost, since the library was already paying its share of the machine rental costs for circulation and serials. Following the decision to go ahead with the project of computerizing the acquisitions system, a preliminary survey was made of the literature on the subject, and a plan for approaching the task conceived. Briefly, the plan hinged upon the idea of an automatically produced multiple order form similar to that proposed by IBM ( 1). It also provided for use of the change card, reported by Becker to be "a unique and very impor- tant part of the Penn State System" ( 2) . It further provided for the automatic production of a weekly books on order list or ''Processing In- formation List" similar to that reported by Schultheiss to be in use at the University of Illinois Libraries ( 3) . The plan was written in the form of a proposal which was then sent with an accompanying flow chart to the director of the campus computer center for consideration. The basic pro- posal for the new system was accepted, and work toward implementa- tion of the system was begun immediately. As was expected, the plan and How chart had to be altered in some areas as the project progressed. As a first step, the book order request form was redesigned to serve as a work slip in the verification routine, as a source document for key- punching, and, in the end, as notification to the requester that a requested item had been cataloged. The redesigned request card consisted of a single record form printed on one side of an IBM tab card (Figure 1 ). The only objection to usage of this form appeared to be that the requester would have no record of his request unless he produced one for himself. However, this form was adopted because it was judged less expensive , BOOK ltEQUEST FOil'ol FirttNCW'I"' et I Dept. _ _ volumes (complete s• t) Volum•_(onlyl [clition: Series: Yeor: Nvmber or Copi es:___ Lht I'Ti c:e:'---- - D.alcr : Cat . No. : ltan No . : (FO~ LIUA!!Y STAFF USE ONLY(: 0 OW~ l .C. Nu.Y... . . • ..•... ... .• .•. 1419.00 965.55 1633.66 ll80.2l· BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ·--3358.00-1492.1":3- - .. 3.872.9H ·-.zoo7~l:-·· · ·- •. CHEMISTRY . 1182.00 385 .20 646.19 150.61 EDUCATION 4i~9.00 1755.05 1094.34 1549.61 ENGINEERING 2904.00 1143.60 1938.56 178.16· ENGLISH . ~~6~;o6 i591.06 1463~43 11Sd;S1 GEOGRAPHY 671.00 1310.75 826.58 1466.33· GOVERNI'IE'iil--· ·--- ---,2~7""3~3.""oo 1ooi:-8s·.. 1356.31 374.84 ·-- ·-·--- HISTORY 3091.00 1666.95 2856.31 1432.26- HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION b.26.00 132.60 215.16 .. il8.24 HOME ECONOMICS 675.00 429.17 8.92 236.91 INDUSTRIAL ARTS 89i.bo .. 193.57 29;21 668;·~2 JOURNALISM 312.00 83.40 115.41 ll3.19 -,...¥A~TH~E~M~A~T~IC~S;-·----------.1~1+17'4'-;.0S:0;--,9.;;0~7-'-c.8~5i- 3ll.74 105.59· MODERN LANGUAGE 1801.00 626.45 978.38 196.17 MUSIC iilil2.00· 1214.15 338.92 328.93 PHYSICS 1494.00 634.30 823.19 36.51 ·;;svtHOlifGv··· · ....... ..... 1oz;oo· ·- ·:;az.oo 57i.6o ·· 21.6o- soc IOLOGY 739.00 197.45 69.96 471.59 ~SP;;.;E;,;E~C7:'H=-: ___________ ......... ll92.00 991.00 421.48 220.48· ~E~~.R.~L. .• 263?_1.00 8557.10 16907.12 886._78 TOTAL 64396.00 25984.62 37938.95 472.43 ··- ------- VALUE OF GIFTS ANO TRANSF ERS 7643.29 Fig. 7. Example of Computer Produced Financial Statement 8 Journal of Library Automation Vol. 1/ 1 March, 1968 (Figure 8) for budgetary purposes. The computer also gives credit to the appropriate fund for items cancelled. This accounting is accomplished through the use of one of the change cards mentioned above. The "books on order" list mentioned above is necessarily cumulative to include all new orders processed, since all new requests are checked against this list for possible duplications. This list always provides current inf01mation on the status of an order, enabling the user to find out to what stage in the total process a given order has progressed. Non-book materials are differentiated from book materials through use of Form Codes (Figure 9) which appear on the "books on order" print-out. Code Department AED AG ART BIO BA CHM ED EN ENG CEO GOV HST HPE HE lA JRN MTH MDL MUS PHY PSY soc SPE GEN GFT · Agricultural Education Agriculture Art Biology Business Administration Chemistry Education Engineering English Geography Govemment History Health and Physical Education Home Economics Industrial Arts Journalism Mathematics Modern Language Music Physics Psychology Sociology Speech General Gifts and Trasnfers Fig. 8. Fund Codes Used in the Acquisitions System Form Gode MICROFORMS _______ M FILMS _________________ __ ________ C FILMSTRIPS -----·---------S RECORDS ____ ___________ D TAPES _______________________ T MAPS --"---C---------- ------A MANUSCRIPTS ________ U SERIALS ___________ _______ p Fig. 9. Form Codes Used for Non-book Materials Computer Based Acquisitions System/ MORRIS 9 USE OF CHANGE CARDS If a dealer reports an item unavailable, cancellation data is noted on the first change card, which then is sent to the Computer Center. Here cancellation data is keypunched into the change card and the change card is fed into the computer to remove all information pertaining to the order from disk storage and consequently from the "books on order" list. The second change card is then discarded. If a dealer supplies an item, actual cost and date received is indicated on the first change card, which is then returned to the Computer Center. Here cost and date received is keypunched into the change card and the change card is processed through the computer to record receipt of the item and to adjust the corresponding account if necessary. The second change card then accom- panies the newly acquired item through the various stages of cataloging. At the appropriate time during the cataloging routine, the call number is written on the second change card. When the catalog cards are ready to be filed in the public catalog, the second change card is returned to the Computer Center where the call number is keypunched into it. From here this change card, usually in a group of several hundred, is fed into the computer and a list of current acquisitions (Figure 10) is printed out. The second change card then is coded so as to make possible the deletion from disk storage of all information pertaining to an order which has appeared on an acquisitions list for as long as two months after the item has been cataloged. This allows the Catalog Department ample time to file cards in the public catalog, thus reducing the possibility of unintentional duplication. Once deleted, the item no longer appears on the "books on order" list. USE OF FIVE-PART ORDER FORM Part one (the original) of the order is sent to the dealer. Part two is sent to the catalog department for use as an order for cards from the Library of Congress. Part three differs from part two in color only and serves primarily as a record of the Library of Congress card order. Part four, with part five and corresponding change cards, is filed alphabetically first by dealer and then by main entry. Part four serves as a report form on which to record dealer reports and other messages pertaining to the status of the item on order. In the event that an order is cancelled, part four is sent to the catalog department as a signal that Library of Con- gress cards may also be cancelled. Part four is discarded if a claim or cancel procedure is negated by receipt of an ordered item. Part five, with part four and corresponding change cards, is filed in the same manner as part four above. When an item is received and paid for, cost and date received is recorded on this copy of the order. Part five, designated as the Control Copy, then is filed by order number in the library's "contror file for possible use in the identification of items already approved for 10 Journal of Library Automation Vol 1/ 1 March, 1968 F /G183DS 0 15.72 /G5896F V1+2 016.37139/H383P 016.519 /INP.B 016.9 /K953D 028 . 52 /B6448 029 .6 /M1990 031. /W569F 056. /IN25 V3 1963 060. /W893 1966 67 110 . /M494E 130.1 /V631B 131. /K1396P 131 .3464 /W6321 137.842 /B388R V1 1961 137.842 /B388R V2 137. B42 /B388R V3 GARLAND HAM A DAUGHTER OF TH E MIDDLE BORDER PETER SMITH 1960 GONZALEZ LUIS FUENTES DE LA HIST CONTEMP HEX COLEGIO MEXICO HEX 1961 HENDERSHOT CARL PROGRAMED LEARNING BIBLI OGR APHY ED 3 THE AUTHOR MICH 1964 WOLD HERMAN 0 BIBLI OGR APHY ON TIME SERIES MIT PRESS MASS 1966 KUEHL W F DISSERTATIONS HI STORY AMER L1 B ASSOC MCKERROW R B WHEELER WILL A PAN AM UNION MEL SEN A VAN VESEY GOD N A KANTOR J R WICKES FRAN G BECK SAMUEL J V 1 (ONLY>. BECK SAM J V 2(0NLY) BECK SAMUEL J V 3(0NLY) UNIV OF KENTUCKY KY 1965 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN 1960-1965 AM L I ASSOC CHIC 1966 ON THE PUBLICATION OF RESEARCH MLA N y FAMILIAR ALLUSI ONS GALE IND EX TO LATIN AMER PERIODICALS EO 3 SC AR ECROW 1965 WORLD OF LEARNING 1966-67 EO 17 INTERNATL 1967 EVOLUTION AND PHILOSOPHY DUQUESNE 1965 BODY AND MIND READINGS IN PHILO HUMANITIES 1965 PROBLEMS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PSY PRINCIPIA PRESS !NO 1947 THE INNER WORLD OF MAN UNGAR N Y 1959 RORSCHACKS TEST BASIC PROCESS ED 3 GR UNE 1961 RORSCHACKS TEST VARIETY OF PER GRUNE 1949 RORSCHACKS TEST ADVANCES IN GRUNE 1<':152 150.1943 /B78B BROADBENT D E BEHAVIOR BASIC BOOKS 1961 Fig. 10. Example of Computer Produced Current Acquisitions List payment which may no longer appear on the "books on order, list. It further provides official evidence that purchase was duly authorized. GIFTS AND TRANSFERS A gift item is processed in the same manner as a purchase except that part one of the order is discarded. An estimate of the value of each title is submitted so that the total value of gifts can be produced automatically Computer Based Acquisitions System/MORRIS 11 for a given period. An item transfelTed from the Bookstore or any other department of the institution is processed in the same manner as a gift, except that the actual cost of the item is used rather than an estimate. STANDING AND CONTINUATION ORDERS A standing or continuation order for a series is keypunched with coded information which causes it to appear indefinitely on the "books on order" list. The two-fold purpose of this is to eliminate the possibility of unin- tentional duplication and to serve as evidence that the order was author- ized. An item actually received on a standing or continuation order basis is processed as a confirmation order and is assigned an order number different from the one assigned the original order. In this way, the item received will appear on the "books on order" list next to the original entry only as long as it takes to catalog the item. CLEARANCE OF INVOICES AND FINAL ROUTINES Upon receipt of shipment and colTesponding invoice, an item is ac- cepted (if as ordered) and the date of acceptance and cost (as per in- voice ) is noted on the first change card. This change card is then re- turned (usually in a group of several hundred) to the Computer Center, where cost and receipt date are keypunched into it. This information is fed into the computer and accurate accounting results. The next print- out of the "books on order" list will indicate that the item was received on the date noted. Part four of the order is discarded. Part five of the order, bearing cost and date received, is filed by ~rder number in the "control" file. The second change card and the original request card ac- company the book to the catalog department. Book pockets are pasted in the books at this point to accommodate the second change card and, later, the IBM circulation card used by the library's circulation depart- ment. At the end of . the cataloging routine, the original request card is sent to the requester as notification that the item is ready for use. DISCUSSION No attempt has been made to compare costs of the new system to the old. On the surface, however, there appears to be considerable saving in time and clerical personnel. Automatic accounting alone results in a net gain of approximately twenty hours per week in clerical time which can be applied to other necessary manual tasks. Manual typing of orders has been completely eliminated with the use of the computer produced or- der, resulting in further savings in clerical time. Limitations of the new system are about the same as those encountered by other mechanized systems, the limiting factors of space in input and electronic storage being most obvious. The present disk storage equip- ment is capable of storing data on approximately thirteen thousand book orders and this capacity could be doubled with the addition of another 12 Journal of Library Automation Vol. 1/ 1 March, 1968 disk unit. The problem · of disk storage space is not critical at present because removal of order information from storage at two-month inter- vals after the cataloging process creates additional space for new orders. Although the new system has definite advantages, perfection was never expected nor does it exist. The human error factor in the book verifica- tion and keypunching processes shows up now and then. Experience bears out the fact that output is only as perfect as input. Nevertheless, there has been a noticeable gain in accuracy with the installation of the new system, mainly because the more exacting method of procedure helps in detecting an error before it is beyond retraction. Even keypunch- ing accuracy has been much greater than expected. CONCLUSION The new acquisitions system at Texas A&I University does the job that it was designed to do. It has resulted in faster clearance of orders, better control over unintentional duplication of orders, and automatic account- ing. It is believed that the system will lend itself to further development within its existing framework and that it will be capable of handling future work loads. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Much of the credit for the success of the program goes to Dr. J. R. Guinn, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engi- neering. His time in reviewing the original proposal and his subsequent efforts toward the implementation of the project resulted in a workable, practical system. Credit goes also to Mr. Patrick Barkey, former Librarian at Texas A&I University (then known as Texas College of Arts and Indus- tries) for the encouragement he gave to the writer and for the support he gave to the project. Appreciation is extended also to Mr. R. C. Jane- way, Librarian at Texas Technological College, for submitting some worthy ideas on design of order forms and on acquisitions procedures in general. REFERENCES 1. International Business Machines: "Mechanized Library Procedures," IBM Data Processing Application Manual (White Plains: IBM, n. d.), p. 11. 2. Becker, Joseph: "System Analysis-Prelude to Library Data Process- ing," ALA Bulletin, 59 (March 19~), 296. 3. Schultheiss, Louis A.: "Data Processing Aids in Acquisitions Work," Library Resources and Technical Services, 9 (Winter 1965), 68. 4. Cox, Carl C.: "Mechanized Acquisitions Procedures at the University of Maryland," College and Research Libraries, 26 (May 1965), 232.