A large number of the foreign language titles at RUL are monographs in Spanish and Portuguese because of the needs of one of the largest language departments at the university. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers both undergraduate and graduate courses in Hispanic literature, culture, and civilization as well as courses in Spanish linguistics, literary theory, Luso-Brazilian literature and culture, translation, interpretation, and teaching and research methodology. The Spanish-English bilingual selector had an incredibly complex and demanding job to meet user needs and ordering deadlines imposed by the fiscal year. Titles were selected from the broadest sources ranging from formal to informal, such as booksellers’ print and online notifications, vendors’ websites, titles or booklists sent to her by antiquarians or friends, prepublication notes and special offers, and personal e-mail messages and communications, to mention a few. Consequently, the acquisitions department’s task was relatively easy for the majority of the titles in terms of verifying the availability with vendors or conducting a preorder search in the local catalog. Unconventional selection methods, however, tested the resourcefulness of the acquisition staff occasionally.

The first serious challenge in foreign language acquisitions is to locate quality bibliographic records to load into the ILS. Using OCLC Connexion (previously OCLC CatME) software does not always bring the desired results. Because many Latin American and European titles might be reprints with or without the same ISBN, individual title search has proven successful in most cases. A title-by-title search instead of a batch ISBN search significantly slowed down the workflow. These records, many of them provided by vendors, could be uploaded to the ILS as a batch simultaneously with the English titles.

The next challenge for the ordering staff member is to find the recently loaded record in the local system so the purchase order could be attached to it (i.e., one order to one title as stipulated by the strict auditing rules as well as for convenient follow-up with receiving or claiming). Again, the failure with the simple ISBN searches in the local system does not mean the title is not there. In RUL’s experience, typing in a foreign language inadvertently slows down the process and also increases the potential for typos. The lack of the appropriate language proficiency seems to have coincided with a larger number of errors when creating brief records for these titles instead of working with minimal-level vendor records, no matter how embryonic they are.

Acquisition of other titles in foreign languages with Roman scripts effortlessly followed the same workflow after the pilot of about three thousand orders of Spanish and Portuguese language titles in 2003. Because of budget allocations, monographs written in lesser-taught languages such as Romanian, Hungarian, and Polish were ordered only occasionally and required individual attention. However, frequently requested French, German, and Italian titles were easy to order after the selection, which mostly happened from vendor-supplied data, either print or electronic. French titles at RUL are selected by an art librarian (including topics in French literature, culture, and language) and by the women’s studies or music librarian for their respective topics from slips by Aux Amateurs de Livres and Jean Touzot Librairie Internationale. Both vendors provide records to OCLC, the major source of records exports for RUL. The French selector also started to use electronic slips recently, and services that these two vendors offer online are yet to be explored.

Italian titles are selected by another art librarian and purchased from Casalini Libri, the vendor for titles published in Italy or written in Italian. Casalini features integrated library services with its monograph and serial databases (i libri and le riviste) to support selection and acquisitions. The database offers a search platform with advanced search options, such as bibliographic fields, subject fields by call number types, and others complemented by further optional fields such as interdisciplinary topics, level of audience, book types, and special formats. It is also possible to narrow the search to titles recently profiled by Casalini Libri or by price as well as titles on order. Selectors can set up their own profiles, while acquisitions staff have access to order-related information and can order online. Similar to major North American vendors, Casalini offers options to create a selection list and save titles including local order data, receive title information and selection lists automatically via e-mail, download bibliographical records in MARC format, and place orders online. Casalini recently expanded the coverage to supply publications in other European languages. Casalini Libri is an excellent example of a vendor that offers a large variety of services and allows libraries to take advantage of them to the degree that best suits their needs. The RUL acquisitions staff ordered from paper notification slips and used the site only occasionally to verify availability and monitor order status. These slips contain the necessary bibliographic information; therefore ordering does not require more than a bibliographic proficiency of Italian. The same level is sufficient for receiving and copy cataloging. After the new foreign language acquisition workflow was implemented for Italian titles, Rutgers had no problems or returns.

German titles are selected by the world history librarian, who has advanced-level language proficiency. The vendor, Otto Harrassowitz, has an online database called OttoEditions, which has been widely used for both selection and acquisition. Technically, online ordering is available for the titles selected by the librarian. However, for workflow and human resources reasons, it is easier for RUL to use this service for rush orders only and to place regular orders according to the workflow streamlined with Spanish and Portuguese titles. Nevertheless, high efficiency applies to the acquisition of German titles selected on the vendor’s site or from paper slips and ordered both electronically and in traditional ways. Harrassowitz targets the academic and research library community by specializing in the distribution of scholarly books, periodicals, e-resources, and music scores. This vendor consolidates all German and some European bookselling in periodical subscriptions, databases, standing orders, and music scores. OttoSerials, Harrassowitz’s online management system for periodicals and standing orders, simplifies the handling of print and electronic subscriptions for libraries. They can also provide MARC records, while (as a new service to facilitate pre-order searching) any OttoEditions account can be set up to automatically search the library’s online catalog from OttoEditions with certain fields appearing as links in the OttoEditions bibliographic display. Clicking on any of these links initiates a search in the library’s online catalog, allowing one to determine quickly if a library already holds that item.

With four members proficient in Russian in RUL Technical and Automated Services, the limited number of Cyrillic orders has never been a problem. Neither have titles in Hebrew or Arabic, with a native speaker at the cataloging department. However, a part-time East Asian librarian and the foreign language acquisitions staff member were experimenting with an array of workflows for CJK orders during a four-year period. Typically, the librarian (a native speaker of Chinese) completed selection and communicated with the vendors located either in the United States or overseas, while the acquisitions staff member placed a single batch order attached to a shadow record (i.e., a bibliographic record invisible to patrons). This record contained codes that only these two people were able to decipher at any given time. Another part-time staff member at the cataloging department, a Korean native with strong reading skills in Chinese and Japanese, helped the acquisitions staff with receiving. Because of the nature of CJK resources, books ordered at the same time were rarely shipped in one package, and it was very difficult to keep track of orders. When the order request was filled in several shipments, invoicing became confusing even with excellent records upon receipt. Toward the end of the fiscal year, encumbered funds and orders to be rolled over to the next fiscal year became confusing. Keeping track of a batch of fifty titles or more delivered in four or more shipments over a period of a few weeks was nearly impossible, and RUL completely overlooked the problems that drop shipments (i.e., when orders were completed by an overseas publisher upon the initiation of the vendor) were bound to cause. Even with several adjustments to address the lack of the necessary language skills at the point of acquisition, the workflow looked like a total disaster from the budgeting and invoicing points of view despite the collaboration and RUL’s best intentions. The light at the end of the tunnel showed only when a full-time CJK cataloger librarian was hired with the language skills required for this complex task.

In comparison to English language acquisitions, the workflow to acquire foreign language titles is typically characterized by less automation, longer processing times, and more frequent human intervention. Benchmarks in technical services, usually based on English language titles, do not work with foreign language titles. Problem orders with U.S. imprints, including rush orders, out-of-print books, and special and rare formats and titles frequently have separate workflows in the acquisitions department’s daily practice. Additionally, foreign orders may have distinct workflows for each language, depending on language expertise, selection resources, and the availability of titles and bibliographic records. Occasionally special foreign orders, such as audiovisual materials or computer files, may mean an even greater challenge with their compatibility issues.

The acquisitions department at RUL did not have to deal with extreme difficulties of staff turnover during these years. Cross-training allowed scheduling staff members according to demands. There were noticeable differences in the workload in the different phases of the fiscal year, including peak times of ordering followed by an overwhelming number of shipments to be processed. Making the best use of staff time entailed assigning the appropriate level and number of staff to handle the particular demands at any given time. One example is opening boxes shipped to the library, an assignment requiring minimal foreign language skills. In practice, the books are placed on book carts in the same order as they are listed on the packing list. If done correctly, usually by part-time student employees with some foreign language skills, staff members who usually work with English books can match books in hand to the packing slips and can quickly receive and copy catalog titles in any foreign language with Roman scripts.

Clear expectations at each step of the foreign language acquisitions process as well as extensive documentation understandable at each level seem to have helped eliminate anxiety and frustration, an argument often mentioned by staff members in the context of foreign language acquisitions. Creating a department-wide skills inventory and documenting work processes allowed a more sensible reorganization of the workflow. Simple but creative solutions, such as a problem shelf established at a central location in the technical services building, proved to be helpful. Once staff members realized that they were not supposed to go beyond their responsibilities or abandon their routines for foreign titles, they did not become disappointed so easily. Neither did they distract their coworker in charge of troubleshooting by interrupting them with every single book—they simply placed problematic items on the shelf for later review. The shelf also made it evident and observable that other staff members had problems, too. Troubleshooting was completed by the same staff member who made the first step in the workflow, which allowed a deeper insight into the nature of the issues. In the long run, this practice yielded a thorough analysis of errors and resulted in the elimination of many of them. Handling problems in batches revealed patterns and intrinsically suggested solutions. Assigning one person to solve problems also avoided the duplication of efforts in this area. The optimal workflow, streamlined with Spanish and Portuguese titles, allowed the foreign language acquisitions staff member to dedicate her time entirely to language-specific tasks because the number of errors and returns dramatically dropped to less than 3 percent. Vendor-supplied bibliographic records (available in the Research Libraries Group’s union catalog at that time and from OCLC later) have played a role in reviewing and reorganizing the workflow, making Spanish and Portuguese language acquisitions more efficient.

RUL’s case shows that with proactive management, consolidating foreign language acquisition workflows and integrating the process into the daily routine in a large academic library setting is feasible. The redesign of the foreign language workflow was endorsed by the head and assistant head of the acquisitions department, and the supportive environment provided by Technical and Automated Services also greatly facilitated changes by encouraging resource sharing, cooperation, and training. Another factor worth mentioning was revamping intra- and interdepartmental communication, such as consolidating staff notes and records about problems or regularly inviting acquisitions staff members to cataloging group meetings. Identifying the components of the foreign language acquisition process from a larger perspective worked for the Technical and Automated Services staff members and encouraged them to find their role in accomplishing departmental goals. Foreign titles have proven to build bridges in many ways within and outside the library.

As far as particular foreign language skills are concerned, the acquisitions department at RUL had the most difficulty with CJK orders. The issues originated when selection, acquisition, and end-processing happened at the East Asian Library, where the librarian and the staff had the proper language expertise to select and process the books in the library, but separately from the Technical and Automated Services workflow. However, invoicing and claiming—and especially following up with problems—caused a significant challenge for the acquisitions department and the budget office. After the retirement of the East Asian librarian, several attempts were made to overcome residual issues and integrate CJK ordering workflow into the general acquisition process in light of the successful workflow with other languages. Without the necessary language skills at the acquisitions department, CJK orders became nightmarish. Japanese titles were the only exceptions; these were selected by a librarian with the appropriate language skills and e-mailed to both the vendor and the acquisitions staff, the latter placing a batch order. The success was the result of the excellent communication and strong relationship with a reputable vendor. A willingness to comply with the expectations at North American libraries is remarkable in the case of all international vendors. Without the high level of vendor cooperation, completing many of these orders would have been nearly impossible.

The CJK acquisitions experience highlights the necessity of bibliographic proficiency of staff members at the acquisitions department. Russian and other Cyrillic scripts presented no problems because more than one librarian and more than one acquisition and cataloging staff member had these language skills ranging from basic reading skills, such as the ability to verify whether the book in hand matches the book ordered, to more advanced, such as strong reading skills or near-native proficiency. Regarding the level of language skills required at an acquisitions department, basic language proficiency seems to be working, provided the selector and the cataloger at previous and subsequent points in the process are able to provide support. Although linguistic abilities are frequently listed within cultural competencies, library schools do not have any language requirement nor do they offer special training for language-related librarian positions or copious language-related tasks in a library in public and technical services.

The Spanish and Portuguese acquisition workflow at RUL can serve as a prime example that, at the initial point of acquisition, the language proficiency of the staff member who locates records and orders the titles is crucial for the subsequent steps. Loading or keying in a proper record is vital to avoid duplication and costly returns, and also enables staff members with no or limited Spanish language proficiency to match the book in hand to the order and invoice upon receipt, which results in a significant increase of efficiency and a dramatic decrease in time spent troubleshooting. In comparison with the workflow of current U.S. imprints, verifying the availability of proper records and identifying them are the responsibilities of an experienced staff member, whereas the fairly routine part of receiving is done by employees in clerical positions. The term proper record may not be satisfactory for cataloging purposes and is used here to denote a variety of bibliographic records with several access points for the user while complying with the minimum requirements of an acquisition record.

The acquisition of foreign language titles has been considered a central issue at RUL. Identifying barriers and bottlenecks in the workflow of foreign language acquisitions from a broader perspective allowed RUL to learn and encouraged RUL to experiment with various methods of collaboration using a variety of communication strategies. In the case of many languages, the collaboration among all participants (i.e., vendor, acquisitions staff, cataloging staff, and selector) resulted in significantly faster turnaround times and fewer mistakes. Vendor performance was assessed and continuously monitored, which led to the creation of an in-house vendor database based on the selection sources. Improved communication also ensured that all participants of the acquisitions process were on the same page concerning the level of automation in a particular language. As pointed out before, the workflow of ordering Russian language titles was seamless for two main reasons: sufficient language proficiency at all points and the excellent collaboration between the vendors and the library, including the selector, acquisitions and cataloging staff, and the library budget office.

Whenever available, vendor-supplied records were used for foreign language titles acquisitions to verify data and availability. In most cases, the advantages of having an easily available and mostly correct record balanced the inaccuracies of the record. The acquisitions record served as a source to keep track of orders both by the acquisitions staff and the selectors, as a starting point for catalogers to upgrade the record, and as an access point for reference librarians and library users while the title was still at an early phase in Technical and Automated Services. Few libraries can afford to hire librarians and staff members with extensive skills in every language at all service points and in all departments, but collaboration is available for all.