Abstract: Lynda Fuller Clendenning, J. Kay Martin, and Gail McKenzie, "Secrets for Managing Materials Budget Allocations: A Brief Guide for Collection Managers," Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 29 (2005): 99–108.

Clendinning, Martin, and McKenzie explore the process of encumbering budgets for library monographic materials in an effort to help collection managers use budgets most effectively. The key to over-encumbering budgets is to understand first that not all materials ordered will be delivered, and that items ordered from different areas of the world have different rates of fulfillment. The savvy collection manager will take these factors into account when ordering from foreign (i.e. non-U.S.) vendors.

The authors summarize four important points at the end of their article that a collection manager would do well to remember, paraphrased below:

1. Order new titles consistently through the fiscal year. Placing orders in large batches a couple times a year interrupts a consistent flow of book receipts. If orders are placed en masse near the end of the fiscal year, items may not be received, reducing purchasing power for the following year.
2. Review open orders at least once each year. This allows managers the opportunity to know which titles are taking longer to be received so that appropriate adjustments can be made: titles could be cancelled, or funds could be unencumbered.
3. Determine the right over encumbrance level for individual budgets and publication regions. Analyze the length of time from order to receipt, average price and discount mix of vendors and their performance.
4. Watch the encumbrance and expenditure levels throughout the fiscal year. As the year progresses, attention should move from a focus on unencumbered balance to expenditures and the corresponding cash balance.

Having had experience ordering monographic materials for a large academic library, I'm familiar with the process of encumbering funds and paying invoices when items are received. I didn't understand why some selectors chose to overencumber their budgets, and my supervisor in acquisitions didn't seem to, either. This article helped me understand how doing so, with the knowledge that all items will not be received, is a good way to take full advantage of funds in a fiscal cycle, but that doing so requires an increased level of attention and knowledge of vendor fulfillment.