Implementing change and reorganization in the acquisitions departments at the University of Alabama and the University of Florida

The purpose of this paper is to describe the motivations, creation, and implementation of workflow and organizational redesigns within two academic library acquisitions departments: the University of Alabama (UA) and the University of Florida (UF).

Both institutions utilized a combination of goal identification, staff contribution, and Blackwell's workflow consulting services to build and implement new acquisitions workflows.

A comparison of the projects reveals two paths to conducting a reorganization of acquisitions in academic libraries, but with the same goal: doing more with less staff while promoting a more cost‐efficient model of operations.

In evaluating these analysis projects at UA and UF, common successes that are applicable to future undertakings were identified.