Typical Value Added Vendor Services

1. Typical Value Added Vendor Services Northern Ohio Technical Services Librarians Spring Meeting, 2005 Margaret Maurer, Assistant Professor Head, Catalog & Metadata Kent State University Libraries and Media Services NOTSL

2. Vendors Really Do Add Value to the products they sell us • Provide context for decision making • What are typical vendor services? • Book vendor services • Unique AV vendor services • Serial vendor services NOTSL

3. It’s all about Your Environment Vendor service options are selected based on your environment and your needs • Patron’s needs • Automation system • Type of library • Types of materials being purchased • Vendor options • Consortia agreements NOTSL

4. It’s about making your money perform efficiently • We seem to have less and less money each year. • What can the vendor do for you that frees your scarce staff dollars to that they are focused on the parts of our work that can most benefit your library? NOTSL

5. Advantages of Outsourcing • Reducing backlogs, shorter “order to shelf” time • Gain expertise in foreign languages • Increasing flexibility • Creating an environment where you are likely to examine workflow NOTSL

6. Advantages of Outsourcing • Fewer staff means fewer staff costs, less people to keep trained, etc. • Can quickly resolve situations involving poor quality work • Greater vendor stability NOTSL

7. Disadvantages of Outsourcing • $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ • Work quality can very, as work comes from multiple sources (although specific standards are always maintained) • Potential loss of professional flexibility and ability to respond to service demands NOTSL

8. Disadvantages of Outsourcing • Added processing can delay shipment of materials • Communicating problems to the vendor can be time consuming, at a high level of staff NOTSL

9. Basic Monographic Vendor Services • Customer service • Collection development assistance • Searching and verification assistance • Cataloging and shelf-ready processing NOTSL

10. Customer Service • Vendor representatives • Communications with vendor • Vendor representative • Handling cancellations, claims, and credits • Customer references • Order via email, fax, snail mail, etc. • A really big Website  NOTSL

11. Collection Development Assistance • Workspace for assembling orders on vendor web sites – even custom catalogs • Reviews, book jackets, summaries, etc. • Core collection lists • Approval plan services – books and slips • Alerting service for new material, release lists NOTSL

12. More Collection Development Assistance • E-books • Inspection copies • Blanket orders • Opening day collections • Standing orders – by publisher, by author, by genre, by topic, by series, by imprint … NOTSL

13. Searching and Verification Assistance • Automated database for pre-order checking and ordering, available via the internet • Complex searching capacity • Links to additional information • Actual pre-order searching NOTSL

14. Bibliographic Services • MARC21 bibliographic records • The ever-shrinking pool of catalogers • Better than Z39.50? • Brief bibliographic and item records for ordering NOTSL

15. OCLC PromptCat NOTSL

16. PromptCat Copy cataloging service. Not 100% (average 98%) Best work done on books PromptCat matches material with WorldCat record. Payment is separate for materials and records. Cataloging Partners 100% guaranteed records Emphasis on non-book and non-English Vendors search WorldCat and then send the material to TechPro. Order records through the vendors and pay through the vendors. OCLC Cataloging Partners vs. OCLC PromptCat Biggest difference: Which vendor you’re working with NOTSL

17. Typical Cataloging Specification you Should be Able to Ask For • Type of subject heading system – LC, Annotated Children’s, MESH, GSAFD • Classification system – LC, DDC, biographies • Cuttering system – LC, Cutter, for fiction items • Treatment of serial records NOTSL

18. Cataloging Specifications Continued • Defining what constitutes a match • Required encoding levels (cataloging standards) • Treatment for titles in series • Original cataloging standards – at a variety of levels NOTSL

19. Physical Processing Services • Lamination / binding / mylar Jackets • Paperback versus hardback • Fitting security triggers • Barcodes and bar-coding NOTSL

20. More Physical Processing Services • Labels: date due, spine, book title, genre , branch … • Directly shipped shelf ready services • One from column A.... NOTSL

21. Typical Financial Services • Discounts • Leasing Arrangements • Automated system interface and order transmission via EDI or EDIFACT. • Electronic order transmission NOTSL

22. More Financial Services • Electronic claiming • Electronic payment (including credit card payment) • Licensing for remote electronic materials • Free shipping? NOTSL

23. What’s Different for AV Vendors • Many services are the same as for books • Visuals of cover art • Approval plans for popular materials • Sound or video samples available online NOTSL

24. AV Vendors… • Summary / table of contents notes in bibliographic records • Downloadable audio books • Extensive physical processing options • My favorite: paying to have the plastic covers removed NOTSL

25. Serial Vendor Services • Katz and Gellatly: > 100 subscriptions = Use a vendor • Vendors typically charge from 5% to 20% • 95% of libraries use a serial vendor “The fact that most libraries use vendor services may be viewed as recognition of the vendor’s value.” NOTSL

26. Why Use a Serial Vendor? • Save staff time • Simplify acquisitions process • Vendors will meet specific local needs, that the publisher might not • Access to information via the vendor’s database and web site NOTSL

27. Why Use a Serial Vendor? • Mediator between library and publisher • Subscription management information • Single point of contact NOTSL

28. Collection Development Information from Your Serial Vendor • Information on new publications • Information on changes in existing publications • Statistics and trends in publishing • Analysis and predictions of serials costs NOTSL

29. Financial and Management Services • Management reports to help the library track subscriptions • Order fulfillment • Title-by-title renewals • Claiming • Invoicing (Hopefully electronic) NOTSL

30. Bibliographic Records • MARC21 bibliographic records for serial records are available • Links to remote resources can be included NOTSL

31. Purchasing and Maintaining Electronic Journals • Pricing, licensing agreements, tickler file • Establishing access – types of access – URL maintenance • Linking deeply within the catalog and /or web page to full text material NOTSL

32. Electronic Journals Continued • Archiving – Can you cancel print? • Aggregators • A-Z list • Citation services NOTSL

33. Considerations when Choosing or Evaluating a Serial Vendor • Cost / discounts / service charges • Services provided, for example • Vendor representative • Consortia agreements NOTSL

34. Making the Most of Value-Added Vendor Services … • Calculate the costs of current in-house processes • Set this against the charges for outsourcing the service • Evaluate the likely effects of outsourcing • Investigate potential suppliers • Think creatively NOTSL

35. Making the Most of Value-Added Vendor Services … • Negotiate contracts • Monitor results • Keep up with communications with the supplier • Recognize the effects on acquisitions, and make needed changes to workflows • Don’t hang onto nostalgic practices for no good reason (You don’t still get ice delivered do you?) NOTSL

36. If you can Dream it… • There are an amazing array of services available today • If you can dream it, they can probably do it • But, if you never ask … • In An Ideal World This is a Partnership NOTSL