Acquisitions Coordinator

Seton Hall University, New Jersey•South Orange, NJ

About The Position

The Acquisitions Coordinator coordinates the Libraries’ Acquisitions department and reports to the Acquisitions and Collections Librarian. The role manages departmental workflows and documentation, supervises two collection services staff members on assigned acquisitions tasks and one to two student workers, and oversees purchasing and processing for the Libraries’ physical and electronic collections. The position processes orders, purchase requests, invoices, payments, and renewals through University e-procurement and library management systems. It maintains financial, acquisitions, bibliographic, license, and agreement records; supports e-resource access and administration; and prepares expenditure statistics and reports. The coordinator works with vendors, faculty, library colleagues, and University finance and procurement offices to ensure transactions and resource workflows are handled accurately and on time. The role also trains library faculty and staff on vendor ordering platforms, maintains workflow documentation, supports collection development and gift-material workflows, and participates in Library Collection Development Committee meetings. The position is in a general office environment.

Requirements

Experience with a library management system.
Familiarity with internal fund management and tracking.
High proficiency with Excel and Word.
Strong understanding of searching databases, vendor websites, and library catalogs, with the ability to train others to use them.
Ability to evaluate and select bibliographic metadata records.
Ability to compile and analyze data.
Demonstrated ability to follow, update, and maintain workflow documentation.
Organized, detail-oriented, and self-directed, with good judgment about when to seek the supervising librarian’s expertise.
Ability to maintain collegial relationships across the department and University and with domestic and international vendors.
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment to meet acquisition and payment timelines.
Three professional references must be provided.

Nice To Haves

Ability to read foreign languages.

Responsibilities

Coordinate Acquisitions department activities, establish and document workflows, and maintain smooth and timely operations.
Supervise and guide two collection services staff members on assigned acquisitions tasks and one to two student workers; schedule workers and provide training.
Select vendors and maintain working relationships with library vendors, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Grants Accounting, Card Compliance, and other University offices.
Place and process orders, including rush and international purchases; manage electronic-resource renewals and cancellations; prepare purchase orders; receive materials in the library management system; and process invoices.
Assign index and fund codes, track payments through University processes, maintain and reconcile credit-card payment records, and address shipping, billing, invoicing, and payment issues.
Support the efficient flow of physical and electronic resources using project management software, spreadsheets, and the library management system.
Select and enhance bibliographic metadata records or create brief original catalog records for ordered physical materials.
Maintain the financial and acquisitions modules of the library management system, including orders, invoices, funds, agreements, licenses, organizations, inventory, and receiving.
Maintain detailed financial records, expenditure statistics, funds, expense classes, gift and restricted-fund expenditures, and reporting data; prepare and execute annual fiscal-year rollovers in the library management system.
Review vendor licenses and maintain agreement and usage terms, including copyright and AI-related terms, in the management system and library catalog; connect and administer e-resource holdings with vendor agreements.
Supervise and curate the online A–Z database list and track cancellations for historical records.
Assist with retrieving electronic-resource usage statistics and conducting cost/use analysis for renewal evaluations.
Train library faculty and staff to use vendor order platforms and maintain current knowledge through vendor trainings, product presentations, and professional development.
Communicate with vendors, University offices, faculty, library staff, and interlibrary loan staff about orders, purchase requests, payment issues, and unmet lending requests.
Work with domestic and international book vendors to administer curated purchasing plans and participate in collection development for specialized collections as needed.
Participate in gift-material workflows, including tracking receipt and processing, maintaining statistics, and ensuring donor acknowledgements are processed.
Maintain up-to-date documentation for acquisitions and licensing workflows and participate in monthly Library Collection Development Committee meetings to provide updates.