Getting the Best Out of an Approval Plan

Abstract

The concept of “approval plan” represents a method of collection development that incorporates the help of vendors, and is built around development of an “approval plan profile” through an agreement between a vendor and the library. Approval plans have been popular at academic libraries, mostly because new books reach the shelves more quickly than in traditional means of acquisition, and also because of budgetary aspects and processing time savings to librarians. This article discusses the experience of an academic medical library with an approval plan and demonstrates that an approval plan incorporating Web-based online slips may prove effective, providing savings in time, effort, and cost. Findings in the literature are considered.

KEYWORDS:

• approval plan
• book returns
• collection development
• online slips