Here is a question I have not seen addressed on this list since I've been
a subscriber. Each year around this time our library receives our annual
renewal invoice from our major periodicals vendor. The amount is usually
around $ 60,000. In past years we have simply paid the invoice on our
automated Library system, approved the invoice for payment and sent it
over to the business office to have the check cut, no problems.

Well this year there is a problem. Now our controller and other business
office higher ups are saying that since some of these issues will not be
received until after July 1, 1998 that 1/2 of the invoice total will be
charged to the Library's 1998-99 fiscal year budget and the other 1/2 to
the current 1997-98 fiscal year budget. They will go ahead and cut the
check for the full amount right now, but when July 1, 1998 rolls around we
will start the year out with our periodicals budget in the hole for the
amount equal to 1/2 of the invoice we have just recieved (around $ 30,000)
Our fiscal year runs July 1 - June 30.

Their reasoning is that since we will not actually be "using" or
"receiving" some of these journal issues until the next fiscal year, we
cannot pay for them with money from the current fiscal year.

Of course when we receive the renewal invoice in the Fall of 1998 1/2 will
be paid from FY 1998-99, and 1/2 from FY 99-00 (boy it's weird typing
that!) It sort of makes sense but also seems like a big bother to me. I am
also a little concerned about what this means in terms of keeping track of
how much has already been expended against the next year's budget. There
is also the issue of how our Library system (Innovative) will handle this. I
don't think it has the capability of splitting an invoice total between
fiscal years.

The business office keeps bringing up "established accounting procedures
and standards" as their rationale. Well, they never seemed to be concerned
about these "standards" in years past and I don't think periodicals
publishers and vendors fall into the same categories as maintenance and
service contracts, their example of the proper application of these
standards.

Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? Are these accounting
standards applied to other libraries' periodicals invoices and budgets?
Our VP of finance is interested in the response I get, so if this is not
standard operating procedure in most college libraries maybe I can win
this battle. If it is the established procedure, I guess I can live with
that too.

Thanks in advance for all responses and advice

 Peter Boll
 Acquistions/Serials Librarian
 Central College
 Pella, IA 50219

 bollp@central.edu