ACQNET: RE-Staff Accounts with Book Vendors (2 responses)

Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 13:49:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Anne Kirby (Univ. of Baltimore) <akirby_at_ubalt.edu>
Subject: RE: Staff Accounts With Book Vendors

I think the problem is the tax issue. We stopped ordering staff books
around the time Amazon became so popular, first because it became as
easy
for staff to find books as it was for me, and second, because the
library
gets the books tax free. Reselling them to you, who should pay tax, puts
their
tax exempt status in danger.

We asked our vendor, B&T, to set up a taxed account for staff, which
they
did,  but as I said, Amazon and Half.com are more popular among staff
and I
haven't been asked to order anything in a while.

Anne Kirby
Acquisitions Technician
Langsdale Library, University of Baltimore


Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 07:13:14 -0400
From: Sarah Andrews (Univ. of Iowa) <sarah-andrews_at_uiowa.edu>
Subject: RE: Staff accounts

Our library has staff accounts with a couple of our regular vendors
(books,
music, videos).  We receive our regular discount, but are charged
tax--and
sometimes shipping as well.

We have a special checking account set up for this purpose, and the
person
who coordinates the purchases gets a check from the staff member and
writes
a new check.  Perhaps this causes less problems with vendors, as the
check
is from "Library Staff Association."

For very popular materials, it's usually cheaper for the staff member to

just order from Amazon etc. so we don't do a lot of ordering this way.

Sarah Andrews
University of Iowa Libraries
Monographic Acquisitions
--------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----

We have recently been asked to stop ordering books for staff through our

primary book vendor.  We have been told that doing so makes us a
"reseller" of books.  Our vendor is "not supposed to sell directly to
individuals
and if they are selling through our library that puts the library in the

position of being a reseller."

Has anyone else experienced this dilemma, or heard of such an issue?

I have worked in libraries since 1969 and every library I have worked in

has been able to buy books for staff without any difficulty.  This
library has provided such a service with at least two different vendors
over
the past 20 years and it has never been a problem.

Please respond directly to: gabbertg_at_lvccld.org

Thank you.

Gretchen W. Gabbert
Head of Acquisitions
Las Vegas - Clark County Library District
833 Las Vegas Boulevard North
Las Vegas, NV  89128
V: 702-507-3556
F: 702-507-3558
gabbertg_at_lvccld.org
www.lvccld.org




--------------------------------------------------------------
For information about ACQNET's editorial policies,
how to subscribe/unsubscribe, and access to Archives, see:

 http://acqweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/acqweb/acqnet.html

--------------------------------------------------------------