ACQNET v1n140 (December 23, 1991) URL = http://www.infomotions.com/serials/acqnet/acq-v1n140 ISSN: 1057-5308 *************** ACQNET, Vol. 1, No. 140, December 23, 1991 ========================================== (1) FROM: Jane Maddox SUBJECT: Popcorn packing (31 lines) (2) FROM: Jane Maddox SUBJECT: The Challenge (10 lines) (3) FROM: Lenore Coral SUBJECT: Polygram Classics (12 lines) (4) FROM: Ann Okerson SUBJECT: Oxford University Press recall (20 lines) (5) FROM: Scott Wicks SUBJECT: Oxford University Press recall (38 lines) (6) FROM: Christian Boissonnas SUBJECT: French vendors: a footnote (48 lines) (1) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 7:59:11 PST From: Jane Maddox Subject: Popcorn The range of responses to the use of popcorn as a packing material has been most interesting. A few libraries have called to congratulate us for being environmentally proactive and have only wanted to verify that there were no chemicals present that would prevent them from feeding it to the wildlife (there are not any). The majority of the calls however, have ranged from gravely concerned to vehemently opposed, because popcorn: 1. is messy 2. has oil present in the kernel of corn 3. attracts pests HARRASSOWITZ received the first telephone call and fax message registering a complaint on December 2nd and we discontinued using the popcorn on December 5th. We certainly do care about the preservation of library materials and will continue to do so. HARRASSOWITZ deeply regrets any inconvenience or stress that has been experi- enced as a result of the use of popcorn as a packing material. However, we all have a responsibility to future generations that includes a quality environment as well as quality in our libraries. Therefore, we will continue to search for an economical and environmentally safe method of packing shipments that is acceptable to libraries. In the meantime, I offer some food for thought: There is not even as much oil in a kernel of corn as there is on the hands of the person unpacking the materials. While popcorn is messy, there really is not any economical packing material that isn't. It is true that food products attract pests. (2) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 7:59:11 PST From: Jane Maddox Subject: The Challenge I would vote for the same change that Joe Barker and you noted. As I have read what others have suggested as a change in the profession, it seems that many of us see personal attitudes, values, and behavior as what needs to be changed. Yet in our workshops/library school courses/publications/conferences, etc., we seem to spend all our time and money on technology/procedures/standards, etc. Do we have our priorities straight? (3) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 08:31:55 EST From: Lenore Coral Subject: Polygram Ours is a kind of blanket order plan with Polygram, not an arrangement for individual ordering -- we pay a set amount and are guaranteed a certain number of discs, all issued in certain categories. We get a few we might not other- wise select, but the cost is very low and it is worth it. There is no selec- tion process involved except for which categories we want to subscribe to -- these are broad categories such as found in record shops: classical, jazz, etc. We stay away from pop categories (other than jazz) because here we want to be very selective). (4) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Dec 91 07:37:27 EST From: Ann Okerson Subject: Oxford University Press recall Here's a take on an interesting situation: it seems (to me) that when one signs a license, as for CD-ROM, one abides by the terms of that contract/ license which often will specifiy who the actual owner of the artifact is. If that owner is the producer, the license lists the terms under which the artifact will be returned. With book and journal (i.e., paper artifact) purchases, there is no explicit license. There is only an implicit one that says the purchaser owns the artifact and can do with it what s/he will. So, at least legally, there is no obligation upon purchasers to return the book to Oxford. The decision would be based on an array of issues, the heftiest of which might be one's views on censorhip and plagiarism; but the decision is the purchaser's. In requesting the recall, OUP is fulfilling its obligations to the parties who might be damaged in a copyright violation. The Press is seen to be behaving honourably in offering to buy back the disputed material, particularly as the process loses a great deal of money and OUP could probably prove it exercised usual, reasonable diligence as a publisher. (5) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Dec 91 16:25:08 EST From: Scott Wicks Subject: _Shaping of the First Amendment_ : Oxford UP and plagiarism Like many of you at your institutions, we at Cornell are struggling to decide whether or not it is in our interest, or that of our patrons, to comply with Oxford U P's request to return our copy of _The shaping of the First Amendment, ..._ When I went into the stacks to retrieve our copy, lo and behold! one of our patrons had already checked-out the title. In fact, we had a second patron waiting for it to return. When we informed the first patron of the problem surrounding the book he pleaded to be allowed to keep it through the holiday. What was so important for him? The bibliography. What is our obligation, our responsibility, concerning this book? Should we honor the wishes of Oxford U P? Should we reserve the right to retain this title for our patrons? I wanted more hard facts concerning this case. With this in mind, I started digging to find the whole truth. I called Mark Capithorne at Oxford U P today. His phone rang, and it rang, and it rang. I guess he'd already left for the holiday ... I then called my trusty vendor who had supplied us with the title. We had received a letter from them letting us know that Oxford U P had asked them to try to retrieve all copies of this title. The text of the letter hinted at plagiarism, but I really wanted more than hints. We are, after all, being asked to return a title which our patrons are currently using and hope to use in the future. Our vendor representative gave me all of the information she had. She said that the author who claims to have been the victim of plagiarism reached a settlement with Oxford U P. One of the conditions was that Oxford recall ALL copies of this title. We are still unsure whether or not to return this title. Until we decide, we will allow our patrons to use it. (6) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Dec 91 18:11:01 EST From: Christian Subject: French vendors: a footnote We discussed at some length the merits of La Librarie Jean Touzot versus Aux Amateurs de Livres as approval vendors. For what it's worth here are a few facts relating to the performance of both companies as firm order vendors for Cornell between June 1, 1990 and November 30, 1991. NO. OF TOTAL FILL TURN- MEAN PERIOD ORDERS PLACED VENDOR ORDERS REC'D RATE AROUND PRICE (%) (Days) ($) 06/01/90 - 11/30/90 Amat. 671 507 76 74 31.49 Touzot 680 531 78 73 28.09 12/01/90 - 02/28/91 Amat. 287 233 81 62 35.40 Touzot 403 326 81 68 29.92 03/01/91 - 05/31/91 Amat. 498 412 83 50 29.48 Touzot 381 328 86 55 24.87 06/01/91 - 08/31/91 Amat. 477 396 83 53 32.47 Touzot 586 478 82 66 31.16 09/01/91 - 10/31/91 Amat. 210 67 32 55 41.68 Touzot 62 38 61 52 21.93 11/01/91 - 11/30/91 Amat. 122 0 0 0 0.00 Touzot 146 0 0 0 0.00 DEFINITIONS: 1. No. of orders: Firm orders placed during the time period at left. It does not include orders for incomplete sets. 2. Total rec'd: Of the orders placed during that time period at left, the number received up to November 30, 1991, the current month. 3. Fill rate: Total rec'd/No. of orders 4. Turnaround: The average number of days elapsed for all orders received that were ordered during the time period at left. 5. Mean price: The average price paid, in U.S. $, for the books received that were ordered during the time period at left. Do not, from these data, assume that Aux Amateurs de Livres is more expensive. There are mix differences between what both vendors received that can account for this difference. The winner, or best vendor? We call it a toss, with a hint of an edge for Touzot because of a very slightly better fill rate counterbalanced by a very slightly worse turnaround time. For us the fill rate is more important. I realize that this started as an inquiry into these vendors performance on the approval front. But while performance in one area does not guarantee perfor- mance in another, my experience is that few companies really fail in an important part of their business without significantly affecting other parts. ******* END OF FILE ****** ACQNET, Vol. 1, No. 140 ****** END OF FILE *******