Approval Room

Incoming volumes are staged for a one-week review period in the Approval Room (or Review Room) located in the Acquisitions Department. During this time, Collection Managers should review the volumes on their shelves to flag appropriate titles to shelve in Reference, or to insert “notify” flags to have a patron, faculty member, or even yourself notified when the volume is available.

Collection Managers must visit the Approval Room weekly. This is vital in ensuring the quality of our collections. It also allows us to monitor the publishing output and discover emerging trends within our subject areas. From a collection development standpoint, there may be clues within the physical volume or on the book cover that alert us to hitherto unknown monographic series, author affiliations, or organizations that warrant investigation.

In rare instances, a volume may be defective or be determined to have been sent in error. In this case, the volume may be placed on the “return” shelf. The Collection Manager should fill out the reverse of the slip inserted in the volume and indicate the reasons for return, write any other comments, and initial the slip. This is an important step that allows us to monitor the quality of our approval plan and make necessary plan “tweaks,” if needed.

Because our fund codes are mapped to the approval plan, titles may occasionally have the incorrect fund code printed on the slip. In this case, the Collection Manager should cross out the fund code and print the “correct” fund code on the slip and place the volume on the return shelf.

UCSD has a contract with YBP to provide Shelf-Ready service for our approval plan books. Shelf-ready books will come with property stamps and labels; those with no copy will just be stamped and taped. Books going to Music and IR/PS will be flagged. If Collection Managers wish to change a location, designate for “Reference,” or change a fund, they must insert a white streamer and make a clear note of the change. These books are automatically bought once they have arrived and been accounted for. Books will remain on the shelf for one week and will then be sent to their location.

The Collection Coordinator reviews all volumes on the return shelf to authorize the final fund code changes and return decisions. This is an important step that allows us to monitor both the types of materials being returned and why, and to identify any fund code “tweaks” that need making in the approval plan.