Publishers Explain: O.P. and O.S. or Why the Acquisition Librarian's Life Is Not a Happy One

Abstract

Whether trying to find a scientific treatise or a children's book on pencils, the acquisition librarian sooner or later comes to a dead stop before those ubiquitous headaches called “out‐of‐print”and “out‐of‐stock.” There seems to be no way to determine what is o.p. or what is o.s. or how publishers decide the fate of a book. Or is there? Well, the question about o.p. policy and procedures was put to 30 well‐known American publishers. Slightly over 60 percent replied to the letter. The result confirms the librarian's worst suspicion: there is no firm policy or procedure. There is an understanding books go o.p. or o.s. when sales diminish.

Citation

(1983), "Publishers Explain: O.P. and O.S. or Why the Acquisition Librarian's Life Is Not a Happy One", Collection Building, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 46-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb023111