I am very glad to see Amy Carlson raise the question of using online
auctions for acquisitions and would like to reply directly to the group.  I
believe that online auction technology offers great potential benefits to
libraries for improving the acquisitions of serials in the secondhand
marketplace. Dynamic pricing and varied pricing options are major benefits
of using online auctions for serial acquisitions.  In order to realize all
the potential benefits of online auctions a willingness to try new methods
and flexible thinking is required.  Online auctions are a new mechanism for
trade that are proven to be effective for many industries and commodities on
a global scale. The online auction can also be an effective trade mechanism
for secondhand serials by functioning as a powerful international web-based
acquisition system.

One of the main keys to making online auctions useful for serials
acquisition is developing customized software that incorporates
bibliographic control for serials.  For example, effective online auction
software for serial acquisition needs to operate similarly to how
interlibrary loan software interacts with a serial union catalog.  The
general auction site with thousands of categories is like an ocean an inch
deep and won't permit serial trading activity to scale.  On the other hand,
a specialized auction site devoted to serials that incorporates serial
bibliographic control is like a lake a mile deep and will permit serial
trading activity to scale.

I don't believe that the problems with using a general online auction such
as fraud and dealing with strangers will exist to the same extent with using
a specialized online auction site for serial acquisitions.  This is mainly
because the community of users will be similar to an interlibrary loan
network.  Even though dealers and individuals will be included as sellers in
the auction community, it's a smaller world in a specialized online auction
and more likely to be ethical.  In addition, the problem with a general
auction site being time-consuming to use is not likely to pertain to a
specialized auction site that has time saving features built into it.

If the moderators will allow, I would also like to call attention to the
free, specialized online auction site for medical journals, IKNOSYS Medical
Journals Auction at http://www.iknosys.com.  I encourage everyone interested
in using online auctions for serial acquisitions to explore this free
service for purchasing, trading and donating secondhand medical journals and
welcome your comments.

Merle Colglazier, AHIP
President
IKNOSYS Medical Journals Auction
Richmond, Virginia
Info@iknosys.com