Acquisitions Programs
The Library of Congress Manila office acquires publications through a network of university presses, local publishers, and publishing arms of government as well as local venders. This is reinforced through regular visits of staff to local bookstores, non-government organizations (NGO), and regional acquisition trips to major cities of the Philippines. The visits aim to identify and select the most useful materials from a large base area.
Media accesses and a pool of experts keep the office informed not only of new publications and their potential sources but also on critical issues so that even ephemeral but valuable materials are collected in timely manner. The office specializes in acquiring materials that reflect the special U.S. - Philippines relations both current such as issues related to the South China Sea, environment and historical events.
Circulars of selected titles are prepared for participating institutions to alert them and provide them latitude to choose suitable titles for their library users. Participants can elect to order titles by subject, type, and/or format. These circulars vary from maps, expensive titles, new serials, popular fictions, retrospective titles, films, video or sound recordings, and others. Annually, a list of selected serials titles is likewise announced to the group.
Materials acquired for each member institution over the years, are recorded so that if needed a table of acquisitions divided by subject, language, and logistics can be easily created.
The staff welcome new participants and visits from scholars.
For further information, including joining the cost-recovery CAPSEA program, please contact JakartaAcquisitions@loc.gov