As you may recall, it was announced on March 5th that the payments functions that currently reside in Acquisitions are being moved to Library Business Services. This move is being made to better leverage staffing and functional efficiencies across the two units.
This change means that the responsibility for keying, posting and filing collections invoices are being moved to Library Business Services while the Acquisitions Department will retain responsibility for ordering, serials check-in, electronic-resources management and the approval of serials and electronic-resource invoices.
It is also expected that invoices for collections materials approved in the Cataloging Department’s Monographic Receiving Unit, The East Asian and Bancroft Libraries, and the branch libraries with self-cataloging units (Music and Earth Sciences) will be sent directly to Library Business Services for further processing. Only official invoice documents are to be approved and sent; not quotes, proforma invoices, statements, packing slips, or order forms.
Library Business Services will begin receiving approved invoices on April 5, 2010. The Bancroft Library will begin sending all of its invoices directly to Library Business Services at that time. The Monographic Receiving Unit, the Gift and Exchange Unit, branch libraries and East Asian Library will also begin sending their monograph invoices to Library Business Services on April 5 as well. Invoices should be sent to the Library Business Office via Library inter-office mail.
It is expected that all self cataloging branches will eventually approve and send serials invoices directly to Library Business Services. Because of the complexities in the approval process for serials invoices, however, Acquisitions staff will be providing training to the East Asian Library before they begin sending serials invoices to LBS. Training will also be available to the self-cataloging areas as necessary. Until that training is completed, those units who currently send serials invoices to Acquisitions will continue to do so.
Library Business Services expects to scan all invoices that are sent to them. Over the next several months students from the Acquisitions Dept. will scan the invoices already processed in the current fiscal year using the LBS scanner. The scanned invoices will be placed on a shared server and will be viewable to all who approve invoices via Adobe Acrobat readers.
With regard to communications, all questions by staff or vendors concerning ordering of collections items and the receipt of serial and electronic materials should continue to come to the Acquisitions Dept. All questions concerning the payment of approved collections invoices should now go to Library Business Services. This includes new and changed vendor payment addresses, invoices that have been paid and the vendor says that payment was never received and issues concerning short payment.
Things to remember:
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Starting April 5, 2010, begin sending all approved monographic invoices to Library Business Services via Library inter-office mail.
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Continue sending approved serial invoices to the Acquisitions Dept. until training is completed.
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Scanned invoices for all collections invoices will progressively be made available via Adobe Acrobat Reader to individuals who have access to the Library designated shared drive.
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Who to contact.
• Contact the Acquisitions Dept. on issues concerning the ordering of collections materials and the status of their receipt. For a list of the names of acquisitions staff click on the following link http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/LibraryStaff/ search.viewunit.logic#T
• For all items relating to the payment of approved invoices, wire transfers, vendor address changes or new vendor documentation, contact Library Business Services. The phone number is (510)642-6487 and the email address is acqpay@library.berkeley.edu
Additional documentation on the invoice approval process will be forwarded to the affected units in the near future.