ABSTRACT
Throughout the academic library environment, staff are focusing much of their energy on the various issues surrounding electronic resources and digital collections. Acquiring materials in an electronic format is an evolving process. The nature of e-resources is dynamic and multifaceted, so acquiring them is complex and labor-intensive. Managing the acquisition of e-resources requires more communication and coordination than the acquisition of their print counterparts. The organizational resources used to provide access-like funding, staff expertise, collaboration, and communication-require particular coordination. The manager who oversees the acquisition of e-resources must optimize organizational resources while keeping various subprocesses in motion, much like a circus juggler. Instead of rubber balls or bowling pins, however, today’s acquisitions librarian is juggling budgets, licensing, the order process, staff, and information technology. Add the publishing industry to this list, and librarians are well on their way to training for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
