As academic institutions commit to supporting research and teaching through electronic resources, libraries become involved in the collection and delivery of these resources, and national initiatives are being developed which will encourage the dissemination of electronic information in the academic setting. Some libraries already are acquiring software, and in the process, encountering new problems and challenges. This paper describes the impact the change is having on the acquisitions process and suggests how these changes might be addressed. Some new possibilities for acquisitions departments are also outlined.