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Follow the links below to find material targeted to the unit's elements, performance criteria, required skills and knowledge

Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Review collection
2. Maintain data on trends relevant to customer needs, available information and alternative formats
3. Take action on policy issues within area of responsibility and make recommendations to appropriate person/s on selection and acquisition of information
4. Develop/assess acquisition recommendations
5. Develop proposals based on own knowledge of customer group/s, usage patterns, specific requests and other available material
6. Assess own or others' proposals in accordance with organisational collection management policies
7. Assess proposals for their impact on the collection, and on the balance of in-house collection and information from remote sources
8. Assess proposals in relation to identified customer needs and requirements
9. Identify and access resource implications of proposals
10. Prioritise proposals based on reasoned analysis of all factors
11. Assess qualities of recommended acquisitions
12. Gather and examine all appropriate information about material to be acquired
13. Assess where relevant, physical durability of material against likely levels and types of usage
14. Identify and evaluate alternative formats in relation to usage patterns and cost
15. Assess suitability of material for potential customers
16. Review supplier and format options
17. Maintain awareness of the capacity of suppliers to meet specific information needs
18. Select format in relation to ease of access, resource implications and suitability for customer requirements
19. Negotiate with suppliers to maximise cost saving opportunities for the organisation within scope of individual responsibility
20. Select suppliers based on ability to meet needs and in accordance with organisational policies
21. Recommend and/or act on selections
22. Make final recommendations for acquisitions in accordance with organisational procedures or allocate resources for purchase depending on scope of individual responsibility
23. Implement administrative procedures for acquisition of material in accordance with organisational requirements

Required Skills

Required skills

research skills to source information from a wide range of sources and maintain trend data communication skills to negotiate costs with suppliers planning and organisational skills to administer acquisition procedures literacy skills to analyse a wide range of information dealing with varied and complex concepts and to develop proposals dealing with those concepts numeracy skills to make budget estimates and to negotiate costs

Required knowledge

features of typical collection management policies and procedures role and scope of responsibility of different staff in the acquisition process ways of acquiring and maintaining data on current usage patterns different formats of information materials their cost and usage implications supply sources for different types of information materials including those for specialised or rare materials copyright moral rights and intellectual property legislation and issues that impact on acquisition of materials cultural issues and protocols that impact on acquisition of materials

Evidence Required

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit	Evidence of the following is essential detailed knowledge of acquisition procedures and policies ability to developassess acquisition recommendations which respond to organisational and customer needs practical demonstration of skills through the development of acquisition recommendations for a specific collection and workplace context
Context of and specific resources for assessment	Assessment must ensure use of current industry systems access to strategic plans and relevant policies and procedures manuals access to suppliers lists and publishers information
Method of assessment	A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge The following examples are appropriate for this unit direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of onthejob performance by the candidate evaluation of acquisition recommendations preparedassessed by the candidate evaluation of candidates response to different collection scenarios to assess ability to make acquisition recommendations to address particular workplace situations
	Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector workplace and job role is recommended for example other collection management units

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Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Formats may include:	print audio-visual CD-ROM Microform multimedia optical disks or formats
Policy issues may relate to:	allocation of funding across the general collection suppliers format of materials collection development cultural considerations copyright, moral rights and intellectual property
Capacity of suppliers to meetspecific information needs may relate to:	quality of service availability of discounts or suitable deals range of information supplied

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