T HE PURPOSE of this article is to give a brief summary of the essential processes which are involved in university acquisition work. Further articles will treat in detail the organization and function of each process. If much that is seemingly obvious is touched upon here, it is because our experience has shown that some of the more elementary and basic principles of acquisition are frequently misunderstood, especially by those who hold executive positions without having had previous

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... in this specialty. The preparatory processes by which a book is made ready for the reader are threefold: (i) acquisition; (2) cataloging; and (3) book marking and/or binding. In a small library, these activities can be done as a unified process by a single individual. In the larger libraries, where the volume of work is greater, the preparatory activities are carried out by separate departments. However, this segregation of work is made at a cost, for such division necessitates additional records and, to a certain extent, duplicate handling. The function of acquisition affects all departments, and their work in turn affects it. In order to keep accurate financial records, acquisition departments all too frequently become involved in complicated and time-consuming accounting practices. Many such systems now in use were begun at a time when the library had a small appropriation, and where a little extra bookkeeping enabled the librarian 232 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES