ABSTRACT
SUMMARY. The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) Library has been collecting materials on the Russian Far North since 1934. Publications were obtained mainly through exchanges and from one main purchase supplier. After 1991, these channels became increasingly ineffective with the demise of the British book supplier, lack of resources of Russian exchange partners, and enormous problems with book publishing and distribution in Russia. However, this period also coincided with an increase in foreign research activities in this region and the development of a significant group of researchers working on the Russian 14Far North at SPRI. This provided opportunities for acquiring materials directly from research institutes and local book shops. There are also several new vendors in America and Europe who focus on different regional centers and are quite competitive. Based on the experience of working closely with researchers and using book vendors, the author discusses the problems of acquiring material published in the region, the impact on the library collection’s profile, and the benefits of using these various channels. The author also relates the recent experience of researchers trying to acquire material on SPRI’s behalf while on field trips in Russia’s regions, including Sakhalin, Magadan, Noril’sk, and Iakutsk. The paper also discusses the need to be selective in the acquisitions process, to consider the users of the collection, and to take into account regional collections of other similar libraries. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <https://getinfo@haworthpressinc.com" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">getinfo@haworthpressinc.com> Website: <https://www.HaworthPress.com" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]
