- Email: [email protected]
Problems of acquisitions of library material in a developing country: University of Lagos library experience
Int. Libr.
Rev.
(1977) 9,225-239
Problems of Acquisitions of Library Material in a Developing Country: University of Lagos Library Experience 0. JEGEDE*
The philosophy of librarianship is based on the concept of service and to this end the professional librarians continue to struggle to collect and organize printed and other forms of recorded knowledge in order to satisfy both present and future users. In struggling to give perfect service, librarians have to battle against so many problems, which become more and more complicated with the explosion of printed, and other forms of recorded materials. In this article, an attempt is made to focus attention on some of these complicated problems as they affect acquisitions of recorded knowledge in all forms for use in academic and research libraries by librarians in developing countries where libraries and their services are yet to be recognized as instruments of national development. The proliferation of printed materials in all subjects makes it imperative for librarians working in academic and research libraries to select materials that are needed by all levels of users ranging from indigent undergraduates to post-doctoral researchers, in a most judicious manner within the limited fund. The most essential thing is to be able to tailor the selection of materials within library policy which Fusslerl advocates that each library should have. Whether it is a written policy or not, it should be clear on what types of materials to be acquired, sources and methods of acquisition and modes of payment. The necessity for such a policy can not be over emphasized and a provision for its periodic review is very important because of the continuous changes in research and nature and contents of higher education all over the world. * Acquisitions librarian, Nigeria. 1 H. H. Fussier (1973). College and Research Libraries
University Acquisition 14,373.
of Lagos policy:
library,
University
A symposium,
of Lag-,
the larger
Yaba,
University
Lagos,
library:
226
0. JEGEDE
PROBLEMSINBOOKSELECTIONPROCESS The selection of library materials within the policy in academic and research libraries needs the co-operation of the users most especially the teaching staff, researchers and the professional librarians. It is a big problem to solicit the co-operation of the teaching staff and a still bigger problem to keep up their co-operation and their interest in recommending titles to the library for purchase. It is the usual practice to route publishers’ and dealers’ catalogues on various subjects to the different departments and these are sent not only to the heads of departments but also to the individual lecturers. A statistical record showing the number of catalogues sent by the Acquisition Section of the University of Lagos Library to members of the teaching staff between the months of January and March 1976 was kept. Ninety-three catalogues were sent to 57 individuals in different departments, and about 77% of the catalogues were returned with marks on titles recommended for purchase. Seven per cent were returned without any recommendations made. The percentage of the catalogues returned seems high, but less than 30% were actually returned within a week about 23% within three weeks and the remaining 24% returned after two or three telephone calls reminding the individuals having the catalogues to send them back to the library. This record, though kept only for a very short period clearly shows that some teaching staff do not take book recommendations to the library as part of the obligations they owe to their students as well as to the University Community as a whole. Furthermore it is also observed that the same set of people who returned catalogues with recommendations on time make additional book recommendations for purchase from time to time. It still remains a problem to get more of the teaching staff individually or collectively through Faculty Library Committee involved in selecting books for the library. It is the normal practice rather than the exception for new courses to be introduced in the faculties without informing the library to build up a core collection to support the new course and fill the gaps in the existing collection. Within the last few years a postgraduate course leading to a master’s degree was introduced in a faculty of the University without giving the library any previous notice to buy supporting materials for the postgraduate programme. The course started; and complaints poured into the library from postgraduate students and lecturers against the inadequacy (once described as a complete collection supporting undergraduate needs) of the library collection to support the postgraduate programme. However lecturers involved in running the programme later recommended titles with their full bibliographical details to the library for purchase. The orders were
PROBLEMS
227
OF ACQUISITIONS
rushed to dealers in different parts of the world (Great Britain, India, United States, etc.) and the books started to trickle in when the first set of the postgraduate students had finished writing their dissertations, and almost finished the final examinations! ! PROBLEMS CREATED TRADITIONAL
BY DISTANCE FROM BOOK MARKETS
THE
This leads to the next point, and that is the question of geographical locations of developing countries from the traditional book markets of Europe and America. It takes about six to nine weeks between the actual posting date of an order for a title from England and the receipt of the book in Lagos. Book consignments from the dealers are usually sent by surface mail, and therefore, one inevitably must take Apapa port (Nigeria’s main sea port) congestion into consideration. Many of the University of Lagos library users are not aware that the congestion at Apapa port does not only cause scarcity of milk and spare parts for their cars but also causes delay in getting much desired books to the library shelf. Immediately this is pointed out to some people who recommended titles for purchase, the suggestion that comes automatically from quite a few of them is why cannot the library air mail the books ? Air-freighting or airmail of books is definitely impossible because of the exorbitant cost. For example posting 300 lbs of book parcels from New York to Lagos the approximate charges are as follows : Airmail :
30 packages averaging 10 lbs. each: Postage : $28.35 x 30 = $850.00 Insurance : 30 x 0.05 = 15.00 $865.00
Airfreight
:
Surface Mail:
Freight charges Insurance: Documents : Pick-up :
$1.66 x 300 = $498.00 15.00 2.00 $3.60 x 300 = 10.80
Charge : Insurance :
$0.33 x 300 = =
$525.80 $99.00 15.00 $114.00
It will not be prudent because of the limited
for any librarian to airmail or air freight books book budget. It may be pertinent however for
228
0. JEGEDE
one to suggest of Lagos, may ment ministry to carry book line offices in rates once or waiting period
that the Chief librarians in a locality such as in the City work out a plan, and approach the appropriate governto give permission to make use of the National Airline consignments from dealers abroad deposited in the airthe respective foreign countries at reduced or nominal twice a month. This may go a long way to reduce the between ordering and the receipt of books.
CHOOSING
BOOK DEALERS
IN FOREIGN
COUNTRIES
Books from abroad constitute the major source of the supply of both the current imprints and out of print materials to the University of Lagos library. Although the problem of distance and the waiting period for books to arrive have been mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, there are other problems too. Choosing the right book dealers to handle the library’s orders according to agreed terms involves a number of considerations. Experience has shown that a library should deal with as few dealers as possible to minimize problems of correspondences and budgeting. Therefore in choosing foreign book dealers the following points must be taken into consideration to minimize areas of conflict in course of business transactions. The first and probably the most important thing to be considered is the question of credit facilities. It is not enough to allow a library to pay for books on receipt, but also a dealer should be prepared to accommodate the problems facing libraries under foreign exchange restrictions in most developing countries. It is a common knowledge that the University of Lagos library’s accounts with various dealers most of the time are “dangerously high” that some hesitate before fulfilling outstanding orders with them. A letter recently received from one of the dealers in Europe stated among other things: ‘6. . . Owing to the stringent financial regulations that exist in Nigeria, we would prefer you to pay in advance for the book and accordingly pro forma invoice”.
we are enclosing
our
Prepayment does not even solve the problem. Although a dealer insisting on prepayment receives his money before despatching books to the library, it usually happens that before the money is received, the dealer could have sold some of the titles already billed on a pro forma invoice. One of such dealers in an African country which insisted on prepayment for certain titles reported thus : “We kept the books you ordered reserved for period of six months and we did not hear from you for nearly a year, we put the books back into stock”. . . .
In this particular
case the library
processed the pro forma invoice for
PROBLEMS
OF
ACQUISITIONS
229
prepayment of eleven titles on 23 June 1975. The dealer wrote to acknowledge the receipt of the money on 16 March 1976 and only sent seven titles out of eleven titles prepaid. It may be convenient here to point out some problems causing delay in the acquisition section itselfin processing invoices for payment. The system of billing of a dealer to some extent contributes to the delay in processing invoices for payment. There is no uniform system of billing among the dealers; billing practice ranges from one purchase order number per invoice (Swets & Zeitlinger, Netherlands bills the library in this way) to one fund per invoice, (i.e. all materials will be invoiced according to the subject fund shown on the ordering slips), alphabetical arrangement of invoiced materials by author or title; and arrangement of invoiced materials by the order numbers. Each of the billing practices has its problems and advantages. The first practice, however, causes little or no delay in processing an invoice once the book is received in perfect condition, but this is in contrast to the others where many items are listed in an invoice. For example, an invoice from a dealer with twelve or more items billed on it, may not be processed on time if one of the items is defective, or a wrong title is sent or not packed or lost in transit until a definite agreement on the responsibility for such an item is reached. This may take five to seven weeks in exchanging correspondences on such a title to be able to arrive at an equitable decision about payment or nonpayment for such a title. Once the invoices are processed for payment, the remittances still take up to three to five months before the money gets to the dealer. For example a dealer from America who has been very generous in granting credit facilities to the library wrote sometime in March 1976, that: “In the meantime, we are still getting letters from your banks saying that they are going to pay the money due. . . ., but we have not yet received any payments. It has been almost five months since we last received any payment from your library and your account is becoming dangerously high so much so that our controller is giving me some problems”.
It remains a big problem for chief librarians to find ways and means of getting money across to the overseas agent on time. Although the question of securing credit facilities from a dealer abroad has been mentioned first, there are other equally important things to be considered too. These are speciality of the dealer, the size of the stock, the range of subject areas covered, and above all the quality and competence of the people on the staff of the dealer in locating pamphlets, ephemera and sources of quasi-government and international organizations publications, should all be considered as a whole in choosing a dealer because all these points contribute to the
230
0.
JEGEDE
library’s ability in getting a book for an anxious reader or a researcher wanting it before a given date. The last but not the least of other things that a dealer should be able to do to ease problems of acquisition librarian in a developing country, is reporting regularly on outstanding orders not fulfilled and automatic searching of materials reported out-ofprint to the library. Out-of-print materials constitute another major problem for acquisition librarians all over the world, and more so for acquisition librarians in developing countries which are far from centres of book trades and auctions. At least as much as 19% of the annual order of the University of Lagos library for books fall within the category of out-ofprint materials. Antiquarian catalogues, (offering out-of-print materials for sale,) received in the library are treated with urgency and orders despatched with maximum haste. But this is no guarantee that the books will still be available when the orders are received. This is one of the reasons that make the services of a good dealer who automatically proceeds to search for materials reported out-of-print, an invaluable service. Furthermore, the library’s bids at book auctions (book auctions are now very rare), are better entrusted to reputable book dealers. It is possible for notices for auction to get to the library so late that it is impossible to arrange for any library staff to attend. The services of a trusted book dealer with the knowledge of library’s needs, and who knows the techniques of successful bidding would be an asset on such occasion. Although a thousand and one things will have to be taken into consideration to minimize problems arising in course of business transactions between the dealer and the library, one must not lose sight of the biggest obstacle facing the acquisitions librarians in developing countries unlike in the developed countries where approval order plan is widely used, the acquisition librarians in developing countries will have to rely on the judgement of dealers in acquiring some essential library materials. This act of relying on other peoples’ judgement is also the chief reason why acquisitions librarians in developing countries cannot take the advantage of newer techniques of acquisitions programmes like the approval order plan mentioned above. It is practically impossible for a dealer to send new books to a library in Lagos under an approval order plan realizing full well how long the book parcel is likely to take in transit, and moreover when he knows the library has the right to return unwanted books under the plan. Furthermore securing the services of the best book dealers does not guarantee that all the old and current imprints from all corners of the world will be acquired. In some cases, owing to political and historical
PROBLEMS
231
OF ACQUISITIONS
differences, there is no regular trade between Nigeria and some countries. For example it is only recently that Chinese and Japanese goods appear in Lagos markets and very soon, the mechanical automobile engineers will be asking for books on manufacture and maintenance of the brand of air conditioners fitted into Japanese makes of cars. It may not be too long when a reference librarian may be asked the rate of knitted garments produced in a factory in Peking. The responses to such requests will depend on availability of basic reference books on industries in both Japan and China in the library. I suppose sooner or later libraries may be faced with the problem of applying for licences from appropriate government ministry to be able to import books from Japan, China and other countries that fall into the same category. It is to be hoped that licences will not be necessary since they are educational materials. What is certain however, is that acquisitions librarians in Nigeria will be faced with the problem of bringing books from these far away countries. Probably acquisition methods like exchange programmes (but this has its own limitations) will be reviewed and pursued vigorously with libraries in such countries, while book trade routes are being exploited. There are more problems that are encountered in buying books from abroad than can be easily enumerated here. Pilfering of books and the various microforms at the post offices and ports here in Lagos, and the unending explanations made to the custom men to exempt library materials from import duties make the work of acquisitions librarians in Nigerian libraries (who are overwhelmed by masses of materials to select from, always battling against time to secure the much needed material, anxious about the large volume of outstanding orders unfulfilled by the dealers, and embarrassed about dealers’ invoices unsettled by default of officers in the Central Bank, or Federal Ministry of Finance) challenging but at the same time unenviable and nervewracking. PROBLEMS
CREATED
BY LOCAL
DEALERS
It is then appropriate to examine why acquisitions librarians in Nigeria should not rely on local dealers to supply books. A writer in the Da+ Times (Nigeria) of Thursday, 11 March 1976, page 13 wrote under the caption of: High cost of importing books “I learnt that in recent years more than N4 million worth of books are imported every year into this country. Books worth much more than this amount will be imported this year when the new universities begin to operate and when the
UPEtakesoff.
232
0.
JEGEDE
It is disheartening to note that most of these books are ordered from agents abroad who take about 25 per cent ofthe money as their commission. The Federal Government should instruct our public libraries and universities in particular to patronise indigenous book suppliers by ordering books from them.”
The writer may or not be in book trade. It may be that he is being patriotic and wants the Nigerian government to conserve the foreign exchange as much as possible. Whatever his principal motive is, it is laudable on the face of it. It is necessary however to examine why acquisition librarians do not use local book dealers as much as they should do. The acquisitions librarians are faced with another problem arising from the fact that there are no organized book trades in most developing countries of Africa and Asia. Experiences have shown that publications about a developing country either by the nationals or foreigners can be picked up easily from a book dealer in a European country that once ruled or administered such a country : for example it is safer and quicker to order a new publication on Gambia by a library in Nigeria from a dealer in England than from a local dealer in Banjul (Gambia), and the same is true of trying to get a handbook of industries in Angola from Lisbon (Portugal), than ordering it from Luanda in Angola herself. Most of the bookshops in Nigeria apart from the ones owned by religious groups (such as the Baptist and the Anglican missions) and the universities are one man’s business. Their capital is meagre and above all, some of them have little or no knowledge of books and book trade. Their stock is limited and worse still they come round to advertise their stock in the libraries without knowing the editions and dates of publications of titles they are offering for sale. Despite this catalogue of short comings, library orders are sent to some of the better organized ones for the following reasons : (1) to encourage them (2) to patronize them and (3) to boost their trade Dealing with local dealers present another set of problems and even the response from the local dealers has not been encouraging, and in certain cases, the University of Lagos library has stopped sending fresh orders to some of them. The law in Nigeria regarding sale of books is that books should be sold at publisher’s price. Libraries, however, are normally entitled to 1O-15o/o discount on publisher’s price. Some of the dealers do not give libraries rebate, claiming that such discount is used to defray cost of shipping and other incidental expenses and their profit. Some of the dealers disregard the law of the land and even increase the
PROBLEMS
OF
233
ACQUISITIONS
prices. Sometime last year the University of Lagos Library ordered the Trial of the Major War Criminals of World War II in 43 volumes at the published price of U$l300 from a local dealer in Lagos. The volumes were delivered with an invoice for N1300 (Nigerian currency). A letter was written to the company enclosing the publisher’s listed price and asking for a new invoice based on publishers price. An amended invoice was sent and the library paid N1170 for the set. Experiences of this nature abound as the following extract from an invoice of another local dealer shows : Invoice
No. 1272 The Acquisition Librarian, University of Lagos (Main Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.
Campus), Date: 4th November,
& Title
Price
CRANDALL: Wild mammals in captiui~ - ATTMAN & ATLAMAN :
N.19.20
2
38.40
5.40
1
5.40
$4.95 each
16.50 7.20
1 1
16.50 7.20
515.00each $7.95 each
7.00
1
7.00
$4.25 each
5.60
1
5.60
$6.50 each
Author
1.50649 2.50638
Social Communication among Primates (soft cover)
3.50638
1975
-
4. 54 163 -
5. 35594 6. 54146 -
ATTMAN
& ATTMAN
Social Communication among Primate (thick cover) Soils of Humid Tropics KUKKEL : Introduction to Roman Legal and Constitutional History Fluorides Biologic Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants
Total Amount Less 10% Discount
Quantity
N. K. Prices taken from BooksIn-Print 1974 $17.50 each 2 copies $35
:
80.10 8.01 72.09
73.65
It is obvious that N73.65 is not an equivalent of $72.09 (as a matter of fact $72.09 is about N45.33; at the rate of U$l.5928 = N1.OO as at 7 April 1976). Some dealers from abroad offer generous terms ranging from free postage and insurance and or lO--25% discount on published prices.
234
0.
JEGEDE
On the whole it may be cheaper and even faster despite all the numerous odds against sending money abroad, to buy books from overseas dealers. The efficiency of the overseas dealers may recommend them especially when they are so good to be able to secure a copy or two copies of a work issued in limited edition for a library far away, but there are some other types and forms of materials which may act as catalysts to force a marriage of convenience between Nigerian libraries and local dealers. These types of materials-usually not expensive but rather difficult to obtain are usually pamphlets and fall within the group of political speeches, party manifestoes, local histories, etc. These local materials constitute problem publications for the acquisitions librarian. The problem is aggravated by the fact that there are not enough bibliographic sources listing them, and more so because of their fugitive nature, many of them escaped being listed in any bibliographies. A complete collection of this group of materials can hardly be assembled in any library through regular book trade without the help of an avid local book dealer who knows the small store at the corner of a blind alley in the city that offers such publications at give away prices. The state of book trade in Nigeria needs to be improved and it is suggested that our local dealers should pool their resources and form more viable and big companies, as this will definitely be to the mutual benefit of both the dealers and the libraries. SERIAL
PUBLICATIONS
Government documents and serial publications form another category of materials that give headaches to acquisition librarians. The practice now in bigger libraries that subscribe to not less than a thousand serial titles is to create a Serial Section which handles the ordering and receiving of both current serials and backfiles. Some libraries have Serials Sections which do not handle acquisition of serials. The problems of acquisition of serials are not basically different from the ones posed by acquisition of books from both local and overseas dealers. These problems are, however, complicated by the nature and manner in which serial publications are issued. Most live titles published regularly can be acquired through agents on standing order basis using “till-forbid order”1 or annual subscription, and with the reprints of back files, now available either in bookform or microfilms, a library with adequate funds can fill in the gaps in incomplete sets. Problems arise however when a dealer does not send issues of serials and the library has to send 1 L. M. Harmd (Comp.) (1971). the Book Crafr, 3rd ed. p. 640. London
The Librarians’ Glossary : And& Deutsch.
of Terms
used in Librarianship
and
PROBLEMS
OF ACQUISITIONS
235
out claims. The irregular serials present another problem, and some of those serials can not be acquired on standing order basis. Each serials librarian has to device various means ranging from tickler system (used by Baker Library, Harvard Business School, Boston) to notations on all calendars displayed in the section in order to remind him to be able to send out claims to the publishers. A separate Serial Section of University of Lagos Library which handles both ordering and receiving of serials came into being at the beginning of 1974175 session. The serial librarian encounters more problems than can be enumerated here. It is however appropriate to highlight some of what can be considered to be mutual problems which stemmed up from the fact that both sections used to be administered as one unit of the technical services department. It may be necessary at this juncture to refer to the definition of a serial publication as contained in A.L.A. glossary of library terms : “a publication issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and as a rule intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include periodicals, annual, (reports, yearbooks, etc.) and memoirs, precedings and transactions of Societies”1
Though this is a concise and clear definition, in practice, it has not been easy in the University of Lagos Library like many others with separate serial sections to allocate the responsibility of acquiring publications issued in series including numbered monographic series between acquisition and serial sections. On the creation of Serial Section yearbooks have been transferred from Acquisitions Section to Serial Section but the transfer of monographs published in series like Chemical Society, London, Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms (Vol. 1 1969-70; Vol. 2 1970-71; Vol. 3 1972-73) has not been smoothly effected. This has occasionally resulted in argument, as to which section should handle such material. Opinions gathered from literature on the handling of acquisition process of this type of material is divided as to which technical section of the library should be responsible. This is not surprising since the handling of acquisition of serial publications vary from library to library, and even numbered monographic series such as Ethiopian Law Series or Cambridge Historical Series are acquired on standing order basis by serial sections in some libraries. GOVERNMENT
PUBLICATIONS
If the acquisition of serial publications gives rise to a lot of problems due to a high rate of growth in the number of titles published, increasing 1 American
Library
tewns, with a Selection
Association. Editorial
of Terms
in Related Fields,
Committee (1943). A.L.A. Glossary of Library p. 124. Chicago: American Library Association.
0.
JEGEDE
subscription costs, and general complexities of cataloguing and classifying them for use, all taken together are child’s play when compared with the acquisition of government, international organizations and their agencies documents which most acquisitions librarians appropriately described as “problem publications”.1 These groups of materials are not usually available on regular book markets, and in addition incomplete, diversified, and at times total lack of bibliographic sources make these publications escape the notice of the most vigilant acquisitions librarians. Government publications from developed countries like Great Britain and America with organized government bookshops are easier to purchase for a Lagos Library than trying to buy a Report of Committee on the Location of Federal Capital of Nigeria from the Federal government printer in Lagos. It is a very cumbersome procedure to send money abroad to pay for government documents like other books but it is even an uphill task to secure systematically Nigerian Federal and State governments documents for library even when paying cash because of multifarious reasons among which are : (i) The very nature ofgovernment
developments and their multiple agencies; Lack of bibliographic control; The complete lack oforganization in the governments printing offices; Lack ofgovernment bookshops; The rapid increase in government publications: Government departments’ reports, tribunals and commissions’ reports, etc.; (vi) The nature of government publications: ranging from books with hard covers to pamphlets, and cyclostyled materials.
(ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
These reasons account for the difficulties in acquiring government documents from other developing countries especially in Africa whose publications are also not available on regular book markets for sale. Although this problem was raised and discussed by the Standing Conference of African University Libraries, Western Area during its conference in Lagos in 1972, the effect of the resolutions passed at that conference is yet to be seen at work. Exchange programmes with academic and research libraries and standing order programmes with the different government printers in developing countries are being employed to bring in government documents from such countries, the result is still far from being satisfactory. 1 P. J. Paulson (1970). Government documents and other non-trade. Library Trena!r 18, 364 and see also L. S. Thompson (1970). Acquisition of books and pamphlets. Library Trenak 18,283.
s Standing Conference of African University Libraries, Western Area Confuence, Lagos (1972). Proceedings, p. 170. Lagos.
PROBLEMS PROBLEMS
OF
OF
ACQUISITION
OF
PUBLICATIONS
237
ACQUISITIONS MATERIALS
UNDER
LAWS
The operation of publication laws designating some libraries as depository libraries in Nigeria has not been satisfactory. On the examination of the statute books of the different states, the publication laws (as they are referred to) are not yet repealed, but as a matter of fact their existence means little or nothing to Nigerian publishers and even to the government departments. The acquisitions librarian is therefore faced with the problem of how to enforce the law. One may argue that some of the local publishers publish what today might be considered as “trash” and therefore acquisitions librarians should not spend their time running after fugitive and emphemeral publications. The future research fellows, however, in economic and social conditions might be grateful for preservation of such publications. Therefore acquisitions librarians should face the problem of finding ways and means of acquiring all the local materials by purchase, or solicit gifts of such materials or enforce the publication laws. A Nigerian librarian writing under the caption “Publication laws of Nigeria, 1950-197 1” suggested : “The libraries must be able to compel recalcitrant their requests. There are penalties stipulated in cannot these libraries get them prosecuted? The legal deposit in this country is to enforce compliance.“i
these only
publishers to comply with laws for defaulters, why way to have an effective
I am of the same opinion as the writer but on a careful consideration of the process of enforcement of law in the country one wonders how much time can an acquisition librarian take off in prosecuting a defaulting publisher judging from undue delays in the law courts. Probably a better solution to the problem may be setting up of regional or state offices (there are 19 states) under the joint auspices of the Nigerian Library Association and the National Library and charge such offices with the sole reponsibility of finding ways and means of making publishers to comply with the law and such offices should also undertake distribution of publications received, to the designated depository libraries. A similar plan came into operation in Spain in 1958 which has been considered to be very sucessful in enforcing compliance with the publications law of that country. A former head of the Legal Deposit Service, Madrid, writing in UjlrESCOBulletinfor Libraries in 1968 said : “If it is to be really effective, a legal deposit service calls for and watchfulness. . . “In Spain the Legal Deposit Service is now an autonomous 1 M. 0. Olaitan
(1972).
Publications
laws in Nigeria,
1950-1971.
a swiftness body,
Nigerian
of action . . . It must
Libraries8,43.
238
0.
JEGEDE
not be thought, however, that the new service is merely a passive receiver of publications; on the contrary, it plays an active supervisory role in guarding against possible cases of noncompliance through ignorance, negligence or bad faith.“1
He concluded that in 1957, 4112 items were received under the legal deposit law as compared with 21 759 items received in 1962 by the Legal Deposit Service-five years after its establishment.
DISSERTATIONS
Another type of publications which are not available on regular book market are dissertations. Unlike government publications, a few bibliographies like : London University Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, List of Current Legal Research Topics (annual) and various bibliographies published by University Microfilms Limited, such as Doctoral Dissertations on Ghana, are good selection aids in locating authors and the Universities to which the dissertation were submitted for the award of higher degrees. Dissertations, which are acquired for mainly research purposes present only one additional problem to the various problems one encounters in acquisition of books on regular book market, and that is obtaining the consent of the author in writing before being able to acquire a Xerox or microfilm copy of the dissertation. Invariably, authors co-operate and only in one instance that an author of Modernisation in a Regional Context: Pretheory and Practice in Western .Nigeria Ph.D. Pennsylvania, 1968, refused to give his consent, and consequently it has not been possible to acquire it. Its importance in adding this dissertation to a university library collection in Nigeria is obvious, and it is only hoped that it will probably be available as a published book or so for sale in a near future. In practice, there are more problems in acquisition and keeping records of library materials acquired. The problems arising from daily routine of acquisitions procedure of the University of Lagos Library are more or less the same that are encountered in other libraries in developing countries. In developed countries however, these routine problems in acquisitions of library materials have been solved or greatly reduced by the use of computer. The University of Lagos Library is in the process to computerize the technical services department. Fortunately it seems that the acquisition procedure will have the honour to be first put on computer and the problems inherent in the present procedure, and 1 G. Guastavino (1968). The problem of Legal deposit, its advantages, possible causes of action. UNESCO Bulletinfor Libraries XXII, 5; 7.
PROBLEMS
OF
ACQUISITIONS
what solutions are expected from computerization and objectives of the change over.
239 would be the aims
CONCLUSION
It is appropriate to conclude this article by emphasizing what has been already mentioned, and that the greatest of all problems that faces the acquisitions librarians today in Nigeria is the acquisition of all available materials on the history and development of Nigeria from a mere “geographical creation” of the last century to a powerful member nation of Organization of African Unity in 1976. This problem may however be tackled by a concerted effort of chief librarians in all Nigerian libraries who are in a position to divide up the country into zones and organize field trips for professional librarians who can recognize and hand pick publications for purchase, which range from books to miscellaneous pictorial works depicting the cultural heritage of Nigerians before these are lost or destroyed so that they can be preserved for future use. This is the time for action when some of the participants in the struggle for Nigeria political independence are still living. The archives of both the dead and living men can be searched for valuable materials and gaps in the available materials can be supplemented by recording on tapes accounts of events-historical and political, given by people who took part in generating the spirit of nationalism in Nigerians. The importance of preserving a complete collection of historical and political events1 can not be over emphasized as such preservation of materials will be to the benefit of future generations.
1 For example Chief I. 0. Dafe in a rejoinder to an earlier article published by Head&es complained that there were certain “missing links” in an account of a very important historical and political event as reported by the magazine. He believes that if the paper had taken time to interview some of the living participants the “fundamental error” could have been avoided. To demonstrate his deep feelings against the alleged “missing link” he said: “It is saddening that the role played by heroes of yesteryean should be consciously or otherwise be relegated or even escape mention”-Chief I. 0. Dafe (1976) A call for revolution -the missing links. Headlines 37,7.
Rev.
(1977) 9,225-239
Problems of Acquisitions of Library Material in a Developing Country: University of Lagos Library Experience 0. JEGEDE*
The philosophy of librarianship is based on the concept of service and to this end the professional librarians continue to struggle to collect and organize printed and other forms of recorded knowledge in order to satisfy both present and future users. In struggling to give perfect service, librarians have to battle against so many problems, which become more and more complicated with the explosion of printed, and other forms of recorded materials. In this article, an attempt is made to focus attention on some of these complicated problems as they affect acquisitions of recorded knowledge in all forms for use in academic and research libraries by librarians in developing countries where libraries and their services are yet to be recognized as instruments of national development. The proliferation of printed materials in all subjects makes it imperative for librarians working in academic and research libraries to select materials that are needed by all levels of users ranging from indigent undergraduates to post-doctoral researchers, in a most judicious manner within the limited fund. The most essential thing is to be able to tailor the selection of materials within library policy which Fusslerl advocates that each library should have. Whether it is a written policy or not, it should be clear on what types of materials to be acquired, sources and methods of acquisition and modes of payment. The necessity for such a policy can not be over emphasized and a provision for its periodic review is very important because of the continuous changes in research and nature and contents of higher education all over the world. * Acquisitions librarian, Nigeria. 1 H. H. Fussier (1973). College and Research Libraries
University Acquisition 14,373.
of Lagos policy:
library,
University
A symposium,
of Lag-,
the larger
Yaba,
University
Lagos,
library:
226
0. JEGEDE
PROBLEMSINBOOKSELECTIONPROCESS The selection of library materials within the policy in academic and research libraries needs the co-operation of the users most especially the teaching staff, researchers and the professional librarians. It is a big problem to solicit the co-operation of the teaching staff and a still bigger problem to keep up their co-operation and their interest in recommending titles to the library for purchase. It is the usual practice to route publishers’ and dealers’ catalogues on various subjects to the different departments and these are sent not only to the heads of departments but also to the individual lecturers. A statistical record showing the number of catalogues sent by the Acquisition Section of the University of Lagos Library to members of the teaching staff between the months of January and March 1976 was kept. Ninety-three catalogues were sent to 57 individuals in different departments, and about 77% of the catalogues were returned with marks on titles recommended for purchase. Seven per cent were returned without any recommendations made. The percentage of the catalogues returned seems high, but less than 30% were actually returned within a week about 23% within three weeks and the remaining 24% returned after two or three telephone calls reminding the individuals having the catalogues to send them back to the library. This record, though kept only for a very short period clearly shows that some teaching staff do not take book recommendations to the library as part of the obligations they owe to their students as well as to the University Community as a whole. Furthermore it is also observed that the same set of people who returned catalogues with recommendations on time make additional book recommendations for purchase from time to time. It still remains a problem to get more of the teaching staff individually or collectively through Faculty Library Committee involved in selecting books for the library. It is the normal practice rather than the exception for new courses to be introduced in the faculties without informing the library to build up a core collection to support the new course and fill the gaps in the existing collection. Within the last few years a postgraduate course leading to a master’s degree was introduced in a faculty of the University without giving the library any previous notice to buy supporting materials for the postgraduate programme. The course started; and complaints poured into the library from postgraduate students and lecturers against the inadequacy (once described as a complete collection supporting undergraduate needs) of the library collection to support the postgraduate programme. However lecturers involved in running the programme later recommended titles with their full bibliographical details to the library for purchase. The orders were
PROBLEMS
227
OF ACQUISITIONS
rushed to dealers in different parts of the world (Great Britain, India, United States, etc.) and the books started to trickle in when the first set of the postgraduate students had finished writing their dissertations, and almost finished the final examinations! ! PROBLEMS CREATED TRADITIONAL
BY DISTANCE FROM BOOK MARKETS
THE
This leads to the next point, and that is the question of geographical locations of developing countries from the traditional book markets of Europe and America. It takes about six to nine weeks between the actual posting date of an order for a title from England and the receipt of the book in Lagos. Book consignments from the dealers are usually sent by surface mail, and therefore, one inevitably must take Apapa port (Nigeria’s main sea port) congestion into consideration. Many of the University of Lagos library users are not aware that the congestion at Apapa port does not only cause scarcity of milk and spare parts for their cars but also causes delay in getting much desired books to the library shelf. Immediately this is pointed out to some people who recommended titles for purchase, the suggestion that comes automatically from quite a few of them is why cannot the library air mail the books ? Air-freighting or airmail of books is definitely impossible because of the exorbitant cost. For example posting 300 lbs of book parcels from New York to Lagos the approximate charges are as follows : Airmail :
30 packages averaging 10 lbs. each: Postage : $28.35 x 30 = $850.00 Insurance : 30 x 0.05 = 15.00 $865.00
Airfreight
:
Surface Mail:
Freight charges Insurance: Documents : Pick-up :
$1.66 x 300 = $498.00 15.00 2.00 $3.60 x 300 = 10.80
Charge : Insurance :
$0.33 x 300 = =
$525.80 $99.00 15.00 $114.00
It will not be prudent because of the limited
for any librarian to airmail or air freight books book budget. It may be pertinent however for
228
0. JEGEDE
one to suggest of Lagos, may ment ministry to carry book line offices in rates once or waiting period
that the Chief librarians in a locality such as in the City work out a plan, and approach the appropriate governto give permission to make use of the National Airline consignments from dealers abroad deposited in the airthe respective foreign countries at reduced or nominal twice a month. This may go a long way to reduce the between ordering and the receipt of books.
CHOOSING
BOOK DEALERS
IN FOREIGN
COUNTRIES
Books from abroad constitute the major source of the supply of both the current imprints and out of print materials to the University of Lagos library. Although the problem of distance and the waiting period for books to arrive have been mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, there are other problems too. Choosing the right book dealers to handle the library’s orders according to agreed terms involves a number of considerations. Experience has shown that a library should deal with as few dealers as possible to minimize problems of correspondences and budgeting. Therefore in choosing foreign book dealers the following points must be taken into consideration to minimize areas of conflict in course of business transactions. The first and probably the most important thing to be considered is the question of credit facilities. It is not enough to allow a library to pay for books on receipt, but also a dealer should be prepared to accommodate the problems facing libraries under foreign exchange restrictions in most developing countries. It is a common knowledge that the University of Lagos library’s accounts with various dealers most of the time are “dangerously high” that some hesitate before fulfilling outstanding orders with them. A letter recently received from one of the dealers in Europe stated among other things: ‘6. . . Owing to the stringent financial regulations that exist in Nigeria, we would prefer you to pay in advance for the book and accordingly pro forma invoice”.
we are enclosing
our
Prepayment does not even solve the problem. Although a dealer insisting on prepayment receives his money before despatching books to the library, it usually happens that before the money is received, the dealer could have sold some of the titles already billed on a pro forma invoice. One of such dealers in an African country which insisted on prepayment for certain titles reported thus : “We kept the books you ordered reserved for period of six months and we did not hear from you for nearly a year, we put the books back into stock”. . . .
In this particular
case the library
processed the pro forma invoice for
PROBLEMS
OF
ACQUISITIONS
229
prepayment of eleven titles on 23 June 1975. The dealer wrote to acknowledge the receipt of the money on 16 March 1976 and only sent seven titles out of eleven titles prepaid. It may be convenient here to point out some problems causing delay in the acquisition section itselfin processing invoices for payment. The system of billing of a dealer to some extent contributes to the delay in processing invoices for payment. There is no uniform system of billing among the dealers; billing practice ranges from one purchase order number per invoice (Swets & Zeitlinger, Netherlands bills the library in this way) to one fund per invoice, (i.e. all materials will be invoiced according to the subject fund shown on the ordering slips), alphabetical arrangement of invoiced materials by author or title; and arrangement of invoiced materials by the order numbers. Each of the billing practices has its problems and advantages. The first practice, however, causes little or no delay in processing an invoice once the book is received in perfect condition, but this is in contrast to the others where many items are listed in an invoice. For example, an invoice from a dealer with twelve or more items billed on it, may not be processed on time if one of the items is defective, or a wrong title is sent or not packed or lost in transit until a definite agreement on the responsibility for such an item is reached. This may take five to seven weeks in exchanging correspondences on such a title to be able to arrive at an equitable decision about payment or nonpayment for such a title. Once the invoices are processed for payment, the remittances still take up to three to five months before the money gets to the dealer. For example a dealer from America who has been very generous in granting credit facilities to the library wrote sometime in March 1976, that: “In the meantime, we are still getting letters from your banks saying that they are going to pay the money due. . . ., but we have not yet received any payments. It has been almost five months since we last received any payment from your library and your account is becoming dangerously high so much so that our controller is giving me some problems”.
It remains a big problem for chief librarians to find ways and means of getting money across to the overseas agent on time. Although the question of securing credit facilities from a dealer abroad has been mentioned first, there are other equally important things to be considered too. These are speciality of the dealer, the size of the stock, the range of subject areas covered, and above all the quality and competence of the people on the staff of the dealer in locating pamphlets, ephemera and sources of quasi-government and international organizations publications, should all be considered as a whole in choosing a dealer because all these points contribute to the
230
0.
JEGEDE
library’s ability in getting a book for an anxious reader or a researcher wanting it before a given date. The last but not the least of other things that a dealer should be able to do to ease problems of acquisition librarian in a developing country, is reporting regularly on outstanding orders not fulfilled and automatic searching of materials reported out-ofprint to the library. Out-of-print materials constitute another major problem for acquisition librarians all over the world, and more so for acquisition librarians in developing countries which are far from centres of book trades and auctions. At least as much as 19% of the annual order of the University of Lagos library for books fall within the category of out-ofprint materials. Antiquarian catalogues, (offering out-of-print materials for sale,) received in the library are treated with urgency and orders despatched with maximum haste. But this is no guarantee that the books will still be available when the orders are received. This is one of the reasons that make the services of a good dealer who automatically proceeds to search for materials reported out-of-print, an invaluable service. Furthermore, the library’s bids at book auctions (book auctions are now very rare), are better entrusted to reputable book dealers. It is possible for notices for auction to get to the library so late that it is impossible to arrange for any library staff to attend. The services of a trusted book dealer with the knowledge of library’s needs, and who knows the techniques of successful bidding would be an asset on such occasion. Although a thousand and one things will have to be taken into consideration to minimize problems arising in course of business transactions between the dealer and the library, one must not lose sight of the biggest obstacle facing the acquisitions librarians in developing countries unlike in the developed countries where approval order plan is widely used, the acquisition librarians in developing countries will have to rely on the judgement of dealers in acquiring some essential library materials. This act of relying on other peoples’ judgement is also the chief reason why acquisitions librarians in developing countries cannot take the advantage of newer techniques of acquisitions programmes like the approval order plan mentioned above. It is practically impossible for a dealer to send new books to a library in Lagos under an approval order plan realizing full well how long the book parcel is likely to take in transit, and moreover when he knows the library has the right to return unwanted books under the plan. Furthermore securing the services of the best book dealers does not guarantee that all the old and current imprints from all corners of the world will be acquired. In some cases, owing to political and historical
PROBLEMS
231
OF ACQUISITIONS
differences, there is no regular trade between Nigeria and some countries. For example it is only recently that Chinese and Japanese goods appear in Lagos markets and very soon, the mechanical automobile engineers will be asking for books on manufacture and maintenance of the brand of air conditioners fitted into Japanese makes of cars. It may not be too long when a reference librarian may be asked the rate of knitted garments produced in a factory in Peking. The responses to such requests will depend on availability of basic reference books on industries in both Japan and China in the library. I suppose sooner or later libraries may be faced with the problem of applying for licences from appropriate government ministry to be able to import books from Japan, China and other countries that fall into the same category. It is to be hoped that licences will not be necessary since they are educational materials. What is certain however, is that acquisitions librarians in Nigeria will be faced with the problem of bringing books from these far away countries. Probably acquisition methods like exchange programmes (but this has its own limitations) will be reviewed and pursued vigorously with libraries in such countries, while book trade routes are being exploited. There are more problems that are encountered in buying books from abroad than can be easily enumerated here. Pilfering of books and the various microforms at the post offices and ports here in Lagos, and the unending explanations made to the custom men to exempt library materials from import duties make the work of acquisitions librarians in Nigerian libraries (who are overwhelmed by masses of materials to select from, always battling against time to secure the much needed material, anxious about the large volume of outstanding orders unfulfilled by the dealers, and embarrassed about dealers’ invoices unsettled by default of officers in the Central Bank, or Federal Ministry of Finance) challenging but at the same time unenviable and nervewracking. PROBLEMS
CREATED
BY LOCAL
DEALERS
It is then appropriate to examine why acquisitions librarians in Nigeria should not rely on local dealers to supply books. A writer in the Da+ Times (Nigeria) of Thursday, 11 March 1976, page 13 wrote under the caption of: High cost of importing books “I learnt that in recent years more than N4 million worth of books are imported every year into this country. Books worth much more than this amount will be imported this year when the new universities begin to operate and when the
UPEtakesoff.
232
0.
JEGEDE
It is disheartening to note that most of these books are ordered from agents abroad who take about 25 per cent ofthe money as their commission. The Federal Government should instruct our public libraries and universities in particular to patronise indigenous book suppliers by ordering books from them.”
The writer may or not be in book trade. It may be that he is being patriotic and wants the Nigerian government to conserve the foreign exchange as much as possible. Whatever his principal motive is, it is laudable on the face of it. It is necessary however to examine why acquisition librarians do not use local book dealers as much as they should do. The acquisitions librarians are faced with another problem arising from the fact that there are no organized book trades in most developing countries of Africa and Asia. Experiences have shown that publications about a developing country either by the nationals or foreigners can be picked up easily from a book dealer in a European country that once ruled or administered such a country : for example it is safer and quicker to order a new publication on Gambia by a library in Nigeria from a dealer in England than from a local dealer in Banjul (Gambia), and the same is true of trying to get a handbook of industries in Angola from Lisbon (Portugal), than ordering it from Luanda in Angola herself. Most of the bookshops in Nigeria apart from the ones owned by religious groups (such as the Baptist and the Anglican missions) and the universities are one man’s business. Their capital is meagre and above all, some of them have little or no knowledge of books and book trade. Their stock is limited and worse still they come round to advertise their stock in the libraries without knowing the editions and dates of publications of titles they are offering for sale. Despite this catalogue of short comings, library orders are sent to some of the better organized ones for the following reasons : (1) to encourage them (2) to patronize them and (3) to boost their trade Dealing with local dealers present another set of problems and even the response from the local dealers has not been encouraging, and in certain cases, the University of Lagos library has stopped sending fresh orders to some of them. The law in Nigeria regarding sale of books is that books should be sold at publisher’s price. Libraries, however, are normally entitled to 1O-15o/o discount on publisher’s price. Some of the dealers do not give libraries rebate, claiming that such discount is used to defray cost of shipping and other incidental expenses and their profit. Some of the dealers disregard the law of the land and even increase the
PROBLEMS
OF
233
ACQUISITIONS
prices. Sometime last year the University of Lagos Library ordered the Trial of the Major War Criminals of World War II in 43 volumes at the published price of U$l300 from a local dealer in Lagos. The volumes were delivered with an invoice for N1300 (Nigerian currency). A letter was written to the company enclosing the publisher’s listed price and asking for a new invoice based on publishers price. An amended invoice was sent and the library paid N1170 for the set. Experiences of this nature abound as the following extract from an invoice of another local dealer shows : Invoice
No. 1272 The Acquisition Librarian, University of Lagos (Main Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.
Campus), Date: 4th November,
& Title
Price
CRANDALL: Wild mammals in captiui~ - ATTMAN & ATLAMAN :
N.19.20
2
38.40
5.40
1
5.40
$4.95 each
16.50 7.20
1 1
16.50 7.20
515.00each $7.95 each
7.00
1
7.00
$4.25 each
5.60
1
5.60
$6.50 each
Author
1.50649 2.50638
Social Communication among Primates (soft cover)
3.50638
1975
-
4. 54 163 -
5. 35594 6. 54146 -
ATTMAN
& ATTMAN
Social Communication among Primate (thick cover) Soils of Humid Tropics KUKKEL : Introduction to Roman Legal and Constitutional History Fluorides Biologic Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants
Total Amount Less 10% Discount
Quantity
N. K. Prices taken from BooksIn-Print 1974 $17.50 each 2 copies $35
:
80.10 8.01 72.09
73.65
It is obvious that N73.65 is not an equivalent of $72.09 (as a matter of fact $72.09 is about N45.33; at the rate of U$l.5928 = N1.OO as at 7 April 1976). Some dealers from abroad offer generous terms ranging from free postage and insurance and or lO--25% discount on published prices.
234
0.
JEGEDE
On the whole it may be cheaper and even faster despite all the numerous odds against sending money abroad, to buy books from overseas dealers. The efficiency of the overseas dealers may recommend them especially when they are so good to be able to secure a copy or two copies of a work issued in limited edition for a library far away, but there are some other types and forms of materials which may act as catalysts to force a marriage of convenience between Nigerian libraries and local dealers. These types of materials-usually not expensive but rather difficult to obtain are usually pamphlets and fall within the group of political speeches, party manifestoes, local histories, etc. These local materials constitute problem publications for the acquisitions librarian. The problem is aggravated by the fact that there are not enough bibliographic sources listing them, and more so because of their fugitive nature, many of them escaped being listed in any bibliographies. A complete collection of this group of materials can hardly be assembled in any library through regular book trade without the help of an avid local book dealer who knows the small store at the corner of a blind alley in the city that offers such publications at give away prices. The state of book trade in Nigeria needs to be improved and it is suggested that our local dealers should pool their resources and form more viable and big companies, as this will definitely be to the mutual benefit of both the dealers and the libraries. SERIAL
PUBLICATIONS
Government documents and serial publications form another category of materials that give headaches to acquisition librarians. The practice now in bigger libraries that subscribe to not less than a thousand serial titles is to create a Serial Section which handles the ordering and receiving of both current serials and backfiles. Some libraries have Serials Sections which do not handle acquisition of serials. The problems of acquisition of serials are not basically different from the ones posed by acquisition of books from both local and overseas dealers. These problems are, however, complicated by the nature and manner in which serial publications are issued. Most live titles published regularly can be acquired through agents on standing order basis using “till-forbid order”1 or annual subscription, and with the reprints of back files, now available either in bookform or microfilms, a library with adequate funds can fill in the gaps in incomplete sets. Problems arise however when a dealer does not send issues of serials and the library has to send 1 L. M. Harmd (Comp.) (1971). the Book Crafr, 3rd ed. p. 640. London
The Librarians’ Glossary : And& Deutsch.
of Terms
used in Librarianship
and
PROBLEMS
OF ACQUISITIONS
235
out claims. The irregular serials present another problem, and some of those serials can not be acquired on standing order basis. Each serials librarian has to device various means ranging from tickler system (used by Baker Library, Harvard Business School, Boston) to notations on all calendars displayed in the section in order to remind him to be able to send out claims to the publishers. A separate Serial Section of University of Lagos Library which handles both ordering and receiving of serials came into being at the beginning of 1974175 session. The serial librarian encounters more problems than can be enumerated here. It is however appropriate to highlight some of what can be considered to be mutual problems which stemmed up from the fact that both sections used to be administered as one unit of the technical services department. It may be necessary at this juncture to refer to the definition of a serial publication as contained in A.L.A. glossary of library terms : “a publication issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and as a rule intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include periodicals, annual, (reports, yearbooks, etc.) and memoirs, precedings and transactions of Societies”1
Though this is a concise and clear definition, in practice, it has not been easy in the University of Lagos Library like many others with separate serial sections to allocate the responsibility of acquiring publications issued in series including numbered monographic series between acquisition and serial sections. On the creation of Serial Section yearbooks have been transferred from Acquisitions Section to Serial Section but the transfer of monographs published in series like Chemical Society, London, Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms (Vol. 1 1969-70; Vol. 2 1970-71; Vol. 3 1972-73) has not been smoothly effected. This has occasionally resulted in argument, as to which section should handle such material. Opinions gathered from literature on the handling of acquisition process of this type of material is divided as to which technical section of the library should be responsible. This is not surprising since the handling of acquisition of serial publications vary from library to library, and even numbered monographic series such as Ethiopian Law Series or Cambridge Historical Series are acquired on standing order basis by serial sections in some libraries. GOVERNMENT
PUBLICATIONS
If the acquisition of serial publications gives rise to a lot of problems due to a high rate of growth in the number of titles published, increasing 1 American
Library
tewns, with a Selection
Association. Editorial
of Terms
in Related Fields,
Committee (1943). A.L.A. Glossary of Library p. 124. Chicago: American Library Association.
0.
JEGEDE
subscription costs, and general complexities of cataloguing and classifying them for use, all taken together are child’s play when compared with the acquisition of government, international organizations and their agencies documents which most acquisitions librarians appropriately described as “problem publications”.1 These groups of materials are not usually available on regular book markets, and in addition incomplete, diversified, and at times total lack of bibliographic sources make these publications escape the notice of the most vigilant acquisitions librarians. Government publications from developed countries like Great Britain and America with organized government bookshops are easier to purchase for a Lagos Library than trying to buy a Report of Committee on the Location of Federal Capital of Nigeria from the Federal government printer in Lagos. It is a very cumbersome procedure to send money abroad to pay for government documents like other books but it is even an uphill task to secure systematically Nigerian Federal and State governments documents for library even when paying cash because of multifarious reasons among which are : (i) The very nature ofgovernment
developments and their multiple agencies; Lack of bibliographic control; The complete lack oforganization in the governments printing offices; Lack ofgovernment bookshops; The rapid increase in government publications: Government departments’ reports, tribunals and commissions’ reports, etc.; (vi) The nature of government publications: ranging from books with hard covers to pamphlets, and cyclostyled materials.
(ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
These reasons account for the difficulties in acquiring government documents from other developing countries especially in Africa whose publications are also not available on regular book markets for sale. Although this problem was raised and discussed by the Standing Conference of African University Libraries, Western Area during its conference in Lagos in 1972, the effect of the resolutions passed at that conference is yet to be seen at work. Exchange programmes with academic and research libraries and standing order programmes with the different government printers in developing countries are being employed to bring in government documents from such countries, the result is still far from being satisfactory. 1 P. J. Paulson (1970). Government documents and other non-trade. Library Trena!r 18, 364 and see also L. S. Thompson (1970). Acquisition of books and pamphlets. Library Trenak 18,283.
s Standing Conference of African University Libraries, Western Area Confuence, Lagos (1972). Proceedings, p. 170. Lagos.
PROBLEMS PROBLEMS
OF
OF
ACQUISITION
OF
PUBLICATIONS
237
ACQUISITIONS MATERIALS
UNDER
LAWS
The operation of publication laws designating some libraries as depository libraries in Nigeria has not been satisfactory. On the examination of the statute books of the different states, the publication laws (as they are referred to) are not yet repealed, but as a matter of fact their existence means little or nothing to Nigerian publishers and even to the government departments. The acquisitions librarian is therefore faced with the problem of how to enforce the law. One may argue that some of the local publishers publish what today might be considered as “trash” and therefore acquisitions librarians should not spend their time running after fugitive and emphemeral publications. The future research fellows, however, in economic and social conditions might be grateful for preservation of such publications. Therefore acquisitions librarians should face the problem of finding ways and means of acquiring all the local materials by purchase, or solicit gifts of such materials or enforce the publication laws. A Nigerian librarian writing under the caption “Publication laws of Nigeria, 1950-197 1” suggested : “The libraries must be able to compel recalcitrant their requests. There are penalties stipulated in cannot these libraries get them prosecuted? The legal deposit in this country is to enforce compliance.“i
these only
publishers to comply with laws for defaulters, why way to have an effective
I am of the same opinion as the writer but on a careful consideration of the process of enforcement of law in the country one wonders how much time can an acquisition librarian take off in prosecuting a defaulting publisher judging from undue delays in the law courts. Probably a better solution to the problem may be setting up of regional or state offices (there are 19 states) under the joint auspices of the Nigerian Library Association and the National Library and charge such offices with the sole reponsibility of finding ways and means of making publishers to comply with the law and such offices should also undertake distribution of publications received, to the designated depository libraries. A similar plan came into operation in Spain in 1958 which has been considered to be very sucessful in enforcing compliance with the publications law of that country. A former head of the Legal Deposit Service, Madrid, writing in UjlrESCOBulletinfor Libraries in 1968 said : “If it is to be really effective, a legal deposit service calls for and watchfulness. . . “In Spain the Legal Deposit Service is now an autonomous 1 M. 0. Olaitan
(1972).
Publications
laws in Nigeria,
1950-1971.
a swiftness body,
Nigerian
of action . . . It must
Libraries8,43.
238
0.
JEGEDE
not be thought, however, that the new service is merely a passive receiver of publications; on the contrary, it plays an active supervisory role in guarding against possible cases of noncompliance through ignorance, negligence or bad faith.“1
He concluded that in 1957, 4112 items were received under the legal deposit law as compared with 21 759 items received in 1962 by the Legal Deposit Service-five years after its establishment.
DISSERTATIONS
Another type of publications which are not available on regular book market are dissertations. Unlike government publications, a few bibliographies like : London University Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, List of Current Legal Research Topics (annual) and various bibliographies published by University Microfilms Limited, such as Doctoral Dissertations on Ghana, are good selection aids in locating authors and the Universities to which the dissertation were submitted for the award of higher degrees. Dissertations, which are acquired for mainly research purposes present only one additional problem to the various problems one encounters in acquisition of books on regular book market, and that is obtaining the consent of the author in writing before being able to acquire a Xerox or microfilm copy of the dissertation. Invariably, authors co-operate and only in one instance that an author of Modernisation in a Regional Context: Pretheory and Practice in Western .Nigeria Ph.D. Pennsylvania, 1968, refused to give his consent, and consequently it has not been possible to acquire it. Its importance in adding this dissertation to a university library collection in Nigeria is obvious, and it is only hoped that it will probably be available as a published book or so for sale in a near future. In practice, there are more problems in acquisition and keeping records of library materials acquired. The problems arising from daily routine of acquisitions procedure of the University of Lagos Library are more or less the same that are encountered in other libraries in developing countries. In developed countries however, these routine problems in acquisitions of library materials have been solved or greatly reduced by the use of computer. The University of Lagos Library is in the process to computerize the technical services department. Fortunately it seems that the acquisition procedure will have the honour to be first put on computer and the problems inherent in the present procedure, and 1 G. Guastavino (1968). The problem of Legal deposit, its advantages, possible causes of action. UNESCO Bulletinfor Libraries XXII, 5; 7.
PROBLEMS
OF
ACQUISITIONS
what solutions are expected from computerization and objectives of the change over.
239 would be the aims
CONCLUSION
It is appropriate to conclude this article by emphasizing what has been already mentioned, and that the greatest of all problems that faces the acquisitions librarians today in Nigeria is the acquisition of all available materials on the history and development of Nigeria from a mere “geographical creation” of the last century to a powerful member nation of Organization of African Unity in 1976. This problem may however be tackled by a concerted effort of chief librarians in all Nigerian libraries who are in a position to divide up the country into zones and organize field trips for professional librarians who can recognize and hand pick publications for purchase, which range from books to miscellaneous pictorial works depicting the cultural heritage of Nigerians before these are lost or destroyed so that they can be preserved for future use. This is the time for action when some of the participants in the struggle for Nigeria political independence are still living. The archives of both the dead and living men can be searched for valuable materials and gaps in the available materials can be supplemented by recording on tapes accounts of events-historical and political, given by people who took part in generating the spirit of nationalism in Nigerians. The importance of preserving a complete collection of historical and political events1 can not be over emphasized as such preservation of materials will be to the benefit of future generations.
1 For example Chief I. 0. Dafe in a rejoinder to an earlier article published by Head&es complained that there were certain “missing links” in an account of a very important historical and political event as reported by the magazine. He believes that if the paper had taken time to interview some of the living participants the “fundamental error” could have been avoided. To demonstrate his deep feelings against the alleged “missing link” he said: “It is saddening that the role played by heroes of yesteryean should be consciously or otherwise be relegated or even escape mention”-Chief I. 0. Dafe (1976) A call for revolution -the missing links. Headlines 37,7.