ABSTRACT
The day-to-day monitoring of the acquisitions budget in a small to medium-sized college library is examined within the context of the educational and fiscal realities of the parent institution. The acquisitions budget is discussed in terms of the allocation of funds for different types of materials, internal accounts for monitoring the budget within these categories, and recommendations for coping with unexpected changes during the course of the fiscal year. A discussion of the book budget offers advice on controlling encumbrances and expenditures, as well as guidelines for a fiscal timetable and the use of allocation formulas. Special problems associated with monitoring standing orders and approval plans are examined. A section on monitoring the periodicals budget addresses concerns with their escalating costs as well as methods for ordering journals and allocating periodical funds in a college library.
