Acquisitions Department

RECEIVING FIRM ORDERS PROCEDURES

Foreword

Receipt of library material in the Acquisitions Department is both a checking and routing operation structured to verify that the material received is that which has been ordered, that the pricing and billing is correct, and to direct the material to an appropriate library location for subsequent action. Materials marked "rush" or "notify" are handled first in all of the following procedures (the designation "rush-order" has no significance in the receiving function). Precautions should be taken to secure items which are of great monetary or collectible value.

The following procedures cover the receipt of firm order monographs; continuations which are received on firm orders are covered by a separate set of procedures.

Invoices

1. All material must have an invoice, NOT a packing slip.
2. Material for which no invoice or U of M form 10 is found is placed temporarily on the firm order hold shelf in Storage room 303B until an invoice arrives. N.B.: when unpacking, all packing labels, shipping labels, etc., should be retained until an invoice is located or received.
3. If an invoice is received under separate cover then date of receipt of the invoice is stamped on the back and then filed alphabetically by vendor in the invoice file for subsequent retrieval upon receipt of material.
4. If an invoice has not been received (after approximately one month) the Material Receipt Assistant [FO] contacts the vendor and claims the invoice.

Initial receipt

1. Make sure parcel is for The University of Memphis Libraries, Acquisitions Department.
1. If item is addressed to an agency other then The University of Memphis Libraries, do the following as appropriate:
1. If USPO, with felt marker circle the correct address and put in "OUT" box for pick up. If too large for "OUT" box, write note and leave next to "OUT" box.
2. If UPS, leave on desk of Material Receipt Assistant [FO] who will call UPS.
2. If item is addressed to The University of Memphis Libraries, do the following as appropriate:
1. If it should go to another department within the library, i.e. Administrative offices, Government Documents, Reference, place on pick up shelf under "IN" and "OUT" mail boxes.
2. If it should go to Standing Orders, deliver unopened to the desk of the Material Receipt Assistant [SO].
3. If material is a Springer-Verlag approval shipment, leave on desk of Material Receipt Assistant [FO].
2. Before opening inspect packages for damages, multipieces (1 of 3) or if it is a Standing Order.
3. Open carefully with box cutter. Do not cut too deep or contents may be damaged.
4. Material is unpacked by the Material Receipt Assistant [FO] or Student Assistant and with invoice in hand, using second copy, check off contents and placed on the book truck, from left to right, in the order listed on the invoice, top shelf to bottom, filling one side of the truck completely starting on the other.
5. When the invoices are sent to the Bookkeeping desk to be paid, they should be in triplicate unless an invoice is numbered. Two copies of numbered invoices are all that is necessary; three copies of unnumbered invoices. However, it is advantageous to send three copies of the numbered invoices to the Bookkeeping desk as they will return the third copy to the Acquisitions Department for vendor evaluation. Any extra copies of invoices needed will be photo-copied by the Material Receipt Assistant [FO]. N.B.: a search should always be made in the "Open Invoice" file, vendors often send packing slips or copies of the invoice with material and send invoices under separate cover.
6. Items are checked off on the second copy of the invoice in pencil. Other copies of the invoice are inserted in the in the last item cited on the invoice. As some vendors report back orders or cancellations on their invoices, no check will be placed next to such items.
7. After checking, the current data (material and invoice are worked) is written in the lower left corner of the invoice.
8. The backs of all copies of the invoice are stamped with both the "INVOICE RECEIVED/date" and "MATERIAL RECEIVED/date" stamps.
1. The person receiving the material must initial under the "MATERIAL RECEIVED/date" stamp.
2. If the material has been held for a period of time before releasing the invoice for payment, an explanation must be written on the backs of the invoices and initialled before releasing it for payment.
9. After checking in books, lay Invoice you have checked off face down. The remaining copies are folded and placed in the last book checked, make sure the company Logo is showing out the top, of the book. Place 1st and last copies of invoice on last book on truck.
10. See special instructions for working Approval Plan shipments and special receipts.

Intermediate steps

1. With the invoice for a guide, vendor cards are retrieved from the vendor file (arranged by year and month, then alphabetically by vendor, and numerically within each vendor) N.B.: while items on an invoice are frequently filed in one section of the vendor file indicating that orders were placed on one day or within one month, sometimes the orders have been placed over a period of several months thus demanding that several drawers be searched.
2. Material is processed from the book truck, or moved to shelves adjacent to the Material Receipt Assistant [FO], from left to right, top shelf to bottom.
3. If approval plan slips supplied by vendors are used as vendor cards then they must have the words "received" and "cost" stamped on them as well as the date received.
4. Any red metal flags (indicating "rush" orders) are removed from the vendor cards.
5. A date stamp is used to indicate "date received" in the designated place on the vendor card; this will match the date written in the lower left corner of the invoice and will be used by the Catalog Department to indicate date received on the permanent record of the transaction on the shelf list.
6. Vendor cards, are affixed to the invoice and the invoice is then taken to the P.O. binder and the P.O. number file copy is stamped with the date received and replaced in the binder. The invoices, with attachments, are then placed in the invoice box on the Material Receipt Assistant [FO]'s desk.
7. "Rush" order invoices and vendor cards and the correct material is placed on a shelf at the Material Receipt Assistant [FO]'s desk to be processed as soon as possible.
8. Contingencies encountered in the initial phases of receipt may be:
1. The vendor card cannot be located in the vendor file. This can often be corrected by checking the copy of the purchase order in the P.O. binder, if the vendor has cited our purchase order number, for the exact name of the vendor as ordered. Material is occasionally received from a subsidiary of a vendor under a different name or is drop shipped directly from the publisher rather than going through the vendor from whom it was ordered.
2. If a report or a cancellation is included on an invoice, the cancelled items should be stamping "cancelled" on the vendor card and posted with a reason for the cancellation then routed to the department head.

Receiving of routine material

1. All invoices, vendor cards, and copies of the purchase order form have been notated and arranged in consonance with the material.
2. All material is processed by matching vendor card information against the title pages of books or against labels of films, videocassettes, audiorecords, etc.
1. Information checked, for a complete match, is:
1. Title
2. Author (to include corporate authors)
3. Publisher/releasing agent/distributor as appropriate
4. Place of publication
5. Date of publication or copyright date
6. Edition, as appropriate
7. ISBN
8. Cost of item
9. Condition of book or material
2. Any major exceptions will be brought to the attention of the Department Head.
3. For vendor cards which have OCLC/DLC copy attached, the OCLC copy will be used for checking information against material. If the information does not match, the Department Head will be consulted for a decision to retain material as a different edition or to return. The OCLC database will be re-checked for items received with vendor cards which have different edition OCLC copy attached.
4. In the event of a slight change in bibliographic information on the material, copies of the purchase order form and vendor cards will be changed to reflect any new information. All refiling and rechecking for duplication will transpire at this time. Material is placed on the "re-search shelf" for additional searching.
5. The actual price paid for the material is written in the appropriate area of the purchase order copy and vendor card if different from the list price used on the order. If the price matches, it may be circled on the vendor card and marked with a check on the Purchase Order copy. Any postage/handling charges will be added to the title bearing the greatest cost.
6. Invoices with prices in foreign currency are converted to U.S. dollars by the Material Receipt Assistant [FO] using the internet conversion converter in order to put the cost on the vendor card that is routed with the material. Invoices will be cross checked by adding the sums of the items after conversion and comparing that amount to the converted total on the invoice. Conversion will not be used if an invoice has a total in U.S. dollars equivalent to the total in foreign currency. The invoice is sent to the Bookkeeping desk for payment. The Bookkeeping desk will convert the currency for the invoice when it is forwarded to them for payment.

Receiving of non-routine material

1. For receipt of multi-volume sets, the following steps will be taken:
1. Items are checked to determine whether or not the amount of material ordered (number of volumes, reels, cassettes, etc.) is the amount received. If the amount differs, the Department Head shall be consulted for disposition of the remainder of the order.
2. If a vendor has not sent all of the items order on a set, has invoiced only for the amount received, and has not reported on the balance, the balance will be claimed.
3. If a vendor has not sent all material on a set but has invoiced for the entire set, the invoice will be held and a claim will be sent for the remainder of the set or for a credit memo to offset the balance. The vendor will be informed that payment of the invoice is pending further action on the part of the vendor. In some special cases the Head of Acquisitions will authorize payment of the invoice before all of the material has been received. This is only done, however, when it is authorized for a special reason.
2. If material is received on a cancelled order and the Department Head decides that the material should be retained by the library if it is not a duplicate:
1. Check the on-line catalogs to see if it is a duplicate.
2. Prepare a request card and route it, the material, and invoice to the Department Head for obligation of the funds.
3. The Department Head will see that any necessary bibliographic searching is done and that the order is obligated quickly.
4. The Clerical Assistant will prepare a purchase order;
5. The Acquisitions Assistant will proof the order;
6. The Department Head will place the order;
7. The Clerical Assistant will then give the material, invoice, request card, and the purchase order copies to the Materials Receipt Assistant [FO] to handle as a routine receipt.

Routing of materials received

Materials are routed according to their priority status, any special requirements, availability of cataloging copy, and format. Vendor cards and copies of the purchase order form are clipped to the title page of books or otherwise affixed to other types of materials.

1. Rush materials are always handled first; the material is sorted by the kind of cataloging copy available:
1. OCLC/DLC, "adds", or material for which bibliographic searching has been completed with no cataloging copy located, are taken directly to the "rush" shelf in the Catalog Department.
2. If bibliographic searching is incomplete, material is re-searched subsequently routed to the "rush" shelf in the Catalog Department.
2. Routing for various types of cataloging copy:
1. OCLC/DLC copy, exact edition: place the copy on top of the vendor card and attach to the title page.
2. OCLC/DLC copy, different edition: recheck the OCLC database for exact edition. If not located, place on "different edition" or "member copy" shelves.
3. OCLC/DLC (CIP) copy is placed on the re-search shelves to be checked for more precise copy. If exact DLC copy is found replace (CIP) copy with it and place on the DLC shelf for cataloging. If there is still only DLC(CIP) copy it too is placed on the DLC shelf for cataloging. If member or different edition is all that is found it is placed on "member copy" shelf for the Head of the Catalog Department to dispense to catalogers.
4. "Add" to existing cataloging: place on "add" shelves. Special considerations for "adds":
1. Most doubts about whether an item is an exact add can be eliminated by checking, first the on-line catalog and then the shelf list in the Catalog Department.
2. In the event an order for an added copy is filled before the previously ordered copy has been cataloged, retain the item on the "in process" shelf. This material is periodically checked against the on-line catalog for later submission as an "add."
5. If no cataloging copy has been found: Place on Original Cataloging shelf.
3. Some materials are routed according to format:
1. Vertical file materials (pamphlets) are received initially as routine materials. They are not cataloged. After a copy of the purchase order form is attached to the invoice and routed to the Bookkeeping desk, the vendor card is attached to the material and routed to the Reference Department Representative.
2. Uncataloged material is handled in a routine manner as far as unpacking and pulling vendor cards. The vendor card is attached to the material and routed to the appropriate department or requester.
3. Loose-leaf material occasionally must be sent to the bindery. This decision is made by the Head of Acquisitions. The material is routed to the Periodicals Department which handles the materials that are sent out of the library for binding. A notation, along with the date, is attached to the vendor slip and filed in the In Process drawer that the material was sent to the bindery. When the material is returned, the information attached to the vendor slip is removed.
4. Pamphlets sometimes require a sturdier binding than that in which they are received. This is done by stapling them between two heavy cardboard covers, called Pam binders. The materials for binding in this fashion (the cardboard covers and heavy duty stapler) are kept in the Acquisitions Department. The Acquisitions Assistant can give instructions on this procedure.

Statistics

1. The Material Receipt Assistant [FO] will keep a record of the number of titles and volumes received.
2. This data will be submitted monthly to the department head.

Send questions/comments/suggestions to Foster Bunday Acquisitions Department | The University of Memphis | University Libraries 126 Ned R. McWherter Library | Memphis, TN 38152-3250 Phone: (901) 678-2203 | Fax: (901) 678-8218