**
*Surplus Books*
When one of my friends learns that I work with collections at the
Library of Congress, one of the first questions I am often asked is,
"How does the Library dispose of materials that are out-of-scope for its
collections?" Usually my reply is something along the lines of "Well,
it's complicated." But here's the real story.
As a result of its multiple missions and its unique status, the Library
receives multitudes of collections materials, on a continuing basis,
that are not needed for the Library's collections. Most of these
materials are simply out of scope for the collections. Others are
duplicates of materials already in the collections. ABA's Acquisitions
Fiscal and Support Office (AFS), is responsible for processing materials
once they are identified as not needed for the collections.
The surplused materials can come from a variety of sources. These
include materials submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office (a unit of the
Library of Congress) or those submitted as part of the Cataloging in
Publication (CIP) program.
They can also come from the multitude of various acquisitions sections
in the Library where they are obtained via either purchase, gift, or
exchange methods.
Finally, they can be materials from our special format divisions, or
from custodial areas that have been deaccessioned, or as part of
transfers from other Federal agencies.
Once the Library decides that these materials are out-of-scope for its
collections, AFS collects the surplused materials from all of these
sources, then directs them to other worthwhile uses.
Some categories of materials are immediately identified and siphoned
off. For example, books meeting a specific set of criteria are placed in
the Duplicate Materials Exchange Program (more on this in a separate
posting), where they are made available to the Library's partner
organizations around the world. Those partners, in exchange, supply
materials that are wanted for the Library's collections.
Also, clinical medicine books are transferred to the National Library of
Medicine, and technical agriculture books are transferred to the
National Agricultural Library, as they hold primary responsibility for
the collection of these materials.
Finally, audio books on CD and tape are transferred to the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, also a Library
of Congress organization.
Materials that do not fall into any of these categories are then placed
in the Surplus Books Program ( http://www.loc.gov/acq/surplus.html ).
The purpose of this program is to make excess collections materials
available to educational institutions, public bodies, and other
non-profit tax-exempt organizations in the United States.
When materials are placed in Surplus Books, they can either be
re-selected for the Library's collections, selected by Congressional
offices for their own use or for use within their districts, selected by
another federal agency, or by any other participating educational
institution, public body or non-profit organization. Materials cannot be
sold; the guiding principle is to build library collections -- not to
raise funds for institutions or organizations.
Eligible organizations and institutions must be located in the United
States and fall into one of the following categories:
* Full-time, tax-supported or nonprofit educational institution:
school, school system, college, university, museum, or public library.
* Agency of local, state, or federal government.
* Nonprofit institution or organization that has tax-exempt status
under the provisions of section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1954 (see 41 CFR 101-44.207 (a)(17)) and that operates a library
and/or research center open to the public.
The catch is that books must be selected in person, and in order to
prevent conflicts of interest, Library of Congress personnel may not
make selections on others' behalf.
Some out-of-state libraries have been successful in requesting a member
of their congressional delegations to send a staff member to the Madison
Building to make selections for the institution.
So, as you can see, the ways the Library receives surplus materials, as
well as how it handles them, are as diverse as the collections themselves.
Many thanks to Joseph Mahar, Surplus Books Program librarian, and Joe
Puccio, Head of the Acquisitions Fiscal and Support Office for providing
valuable guidance and information in the writing of this article.
About the author: Rick Fitzgerald is currently the primary cataloging
librarian for the Library of Congress Web Archives project. His
background includes serials cataloging, acquisitions and electronic
resources management. He also serves on the editorial board for the LCCN.
Sent via:
Melanie Polutta
Library of Congress
ALAWE:Iberia/Rio
Librarian cataloger
