Shipping of Materials to Libraries Participating in the Cooperative Acquisitions Programs

* No book is acquired for participants without the careful examination of one approval copy by language and/or subject specialists in the New Delhi office. Participant copies are ordered only after the book has been approved for the program. This ensures the quality of coverage but delays the ordering and acquisition process.

* Books that have to be ordered from cities other than New Delhi, or from any of the other countries we cover, predictably, take longer to be delivered than books published in New Delhi.

* Binding of books delays shipping by about two weeks. The average cost of binding is currently $0.80 per volume. Tibetan-style books are boxed and cost about $1.33 per box.

* Books are shipped to participants by road from Delhi to Mumbai (Bombay), by sea freight from Mumbai to Baltimore, over land from Baltimore to the Library of Congress in Washington, where container boxes are opened, and individual participant boxes are weighed and stamped. The US Postal Service takes them on to their final destination.

* New participants to the program should be aware that shipping alone takes no less than two months. It may take up to four months from the date the office receives confirmation a new participant has deposited a check with the Library's Disbursing Office and the time books begin arriving at the participant's address. After that, a new participant can expect to receive shipments approximately every two months.

* Serials can be shipped to participants currently, unbound, or bound, after the completion of the volume. Current subscriptions can be shipped by sea freight with the monographs, or by international airmail.

* The surcharge for airmail shipping of serials depends on the frequency of the title, as follows: $400 for dailies, $50 for weeklies and fortnightlies, $30 for annuals and irregulars, $15 for monthlies and semi-annuals, and $10 for quarterlies.

* At a participant's request, the office will ship individual monographs by airmail or courier to meet an urgent user demand.

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