Re: [ALCTS-acqnet] Vendors contacting employers

 
My situation is similar to Rebecca's -- I've spent about half my career working in academic libraries, and half working for vendors. And I agree with all she says. Just as you wouldn't (or shouldn't) chastise or shame an employee in front of others, you shouldn't do the same to a vendor in an open forum like a listserv.
I saw this happen a few years ago (while I was working in a library) when a vendor colleague was the subject of what I considered to be a libelous post on a listserv. I wrote to her privately and suggested that the list was not the appropriate place to air grievances. She responded quite negatively, but it would have been impossible to approach her employer: she used a Gmail address with a cryptic username. 

I've also seen a vendor be the subject of negative posts based on a misunderstanding, and when the librarian was notified, she never posted a retraction or apology.
Despite what Mitt Romney may think, corporations are not people, but the folks who work for them are. I think we should treat those representatives with the same respect we give the folks who work in offices or cubicles next to us in our libraries.

Regards,Katy GinanniCollection Development Manager, GOBI



    On Friday, January 18, 2019, 8:29:59 AM CST, Rebecca Sloat <rsandovalsloat_at_sclibnj.org> wrote:  
 
 I'm going to throw out my two cents on this topic. My personal context is that the first six years of my career were spent working for an academic serials vendor. Eventually I moved into a paraprofessional position at an academic library, and now I'm at a public library system as their head of Technical Services, so my perspective is one that includes being on both sides of the fence.
I don't think it's professional or appropriate to mention vendor names in an open forum in a negative way. Asking for recommendations and mentioning names is different. The practice in the past would be to be purposely vague when posting on listservs, etc. and to possibly give clues so that the wider audience might be able to infer which vendor is being referred to.
There are always going to be circumstances where problems arise, things go wrong, or perhaps their are personal issues between vendor and a customer, but as professionals, we have a duty to maintain a level of collegiality on both sides.  If a person wants to share information and see if others are having a similar problem, it would be best for all parties involved to put that information out as tactfully as possible (without specifying the vendor's name), asking to be contacted directly and offline for details or further discussion.
As a vendor, I never appreciated the "us vs. them" that sometimes exists between libraries and vendors.
If a vendor has done something egregious (which may have happened in the circumstances you mentioned, or at least, that's what I'm inferring) that's not for an open forum. That's a phone call to the representative's manager with the backing of your own supervisor, department head, or director. 
Best,Rebecca Sandoval Sloat
On Wed, Jan 16, 2019 at 6:26 PM Cris Ferguson <acqnet_at_lists.ala.org> wrote:

Hello all, 
First, apologies, this message has been cross-posted to a couple of listservs.
Twice this week I have heard of librarians discussing either an interaction with a specific vendor or the product from a specific vendor on a listserv, and, as a result of that conversation, the vendor has contact the librarian's employer off the listserv (presumably to request either disciplinary action or a retraction).  
Has this happened to you or a colleague?  If so, I am interested in hearing more about it - the specifics of the case (if they can be shared, of course), how your administration reacted, what the ultimate solution was.  If it hasn't happened to you, I'd still be interested in hearing your thoughts on the purpose of listserv communication, how it is used to discuss vendors and products, and what it means when a vendor takes that communication and contacts an employer in regards to it.  
If you are hesitant to post about an interaction with a vendor directly to the list, please feel free to contact me off list at the contact information below.  As I gather information on this, I am happy to work with you to protect anonymity if that is what you prefer.  I also think this is a two-way street.  I would be interested in hearing from vendors who have contacted, or wished they could perhaps contact, a librarian's supervisor to help me understand why this might be necessary. 
In the interest of full disclosure, I am noodling on the idea of an editorial of some kind on this topic, but nothing is finalized.  I am really just fascinated by this phenomenon and interested in people's thoughts. 
Thanks,Cris Ferguson
__________________________Cris FergusonAssistant Dean of Libraries / Associate Professor
222 Waterfield LibraryMurray State UniversityMurray, KY 42071270-809-5607cferguson13@murraystate.eduhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-8410-6010%c2 

(she/her/hers)



-- 

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