RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
4.5 Obtaining materials
4.5.1 How to obtain materials
You can obtain materials for the resource centre in several ways. The main ways
are:
• gifts and exchanges
• purchasing
• document delivery services.
Gifts and exchanges
Many organisations provide materials free or in exchange for other materials.
Accept only those that will be useful. Do not accept any materials that are on a
subject of no interest to resource centre users, or that are old or in poor
condition.
To obtain free materials, write a brief letter outlining your request. You can
either type a new letter for each request, or you could photocopy a standard
letter which has spaces for you to write in the details. This is often quicker (see
example in Section 4.8). Keep a copy of your letter in the ‘Free requests’ section
of the ‘Orders file’ (see Section 4.5.2).
Purchasing
The procedure for purchasing materials needs to follow your organisation’s
financial and accounting regulations. Procedures for purchasing standard items,
such as stationery or fuel, may not be suitable for purchasing materials for the
resource centre. You may need to develop a procedure for ordering materials, in
consultation with the resource centre advisory committee, managers and finance
staff.
Books and manuals can be ordered directly from publishers or distributors such
as bookshops, specialised booksellers and library suppliers (which supply to
libraries but not the public). A sample of key publishers and distributors of
health and development materials are listed in Section 4.9. You can place an
order by post, telephone, fax, e-mail or personal visit, depending where the
supplier is and what facilities are available.
Audiovisuals can be ordered in the same way as books. Remember that there
are several different video systems, such as NTSC, PAL and SECAM. Unless
you have a multi-system video player, you will need to know which system
your video player uses, and check that the video you want is available in that
system. When you order, remember to state which video system you require.
Periodicals (newsletters, magazines and journals) are normally ordered direct
from the publishers, or through subscription agents. You can ask for a sample
copy before taking out a subscription. This will help you to decide whether the
periodical will be useful. A letter requesting a sample copy is given in Section
4.8.3.
SECTION 4: DEVELOPING THE COLLECTION
11