ACQNET v2n091 (September 27, 1992) URL = http://www.infomotions.com/serials/acqnet/acq-v2n091 ISSN: 1057-5308 *************** ACQNET, Vol. 2, No. 91, September 27, 1992 ========================================== (1) FROM: Christian Boissonnas SUBJECT: Who's new on ACQNET today (43 lines) (2) FROM: Scott Wicks SUBJECT: Thai and Philippine vendors (33 lines) (3) FROM: Heather Miller SUBJECT: Bidding (25 lines) (4) FROM: Christian Boissonnas SUBJECT: Bidding (32 lines) (5) FROM: Deborah Fetch SUBJECT: Pre-order searching (15 lines) (1) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: September 27, 1992 From: Christian Subject: Who's new on ACQNET today Suzanne Hill Freeman Arts/Humanities Collection Management Librarian Virginia Commonwealth University Library E-mail: SFREEMAN@VCUVAX.BITNET Elizabeth Dolby Acquisitions Librarian Queensland University of Technology E-mail: E.DOLBY@QUT.EDU.AU Hunter Kevil Reference Librarian Washington University School of Business Library E-mail: KEVIL@WUOLIN.BITNET Patrick Siou-ying Chu Acquisitions Librarian Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology Library E-mail: LBPCHU@USTHK.BITNET Denise Marguerite Shorey Reference Librarian and Selector, African Studies Princeton University Library E-mail: DMSHOREY@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU Bill Robnett Director, Central and Science Libraries Vanderbilt University Libraries E-mail: ROBNETTB@CTRVAX.VANDERBILT.EDU Ross Wood Head, Monograph Acquisitions and Cataloging Wellesley College Library E-mail: RWOOD@LUCY.WELLESLEY.EDU Phil John Coles Group Technical Marketing Manager B.H. Blackwell Ltd. E-mail: /G=PHIL/S=COLES/PRMD=BLACKWELL/ADMD=0/C=GB@MHS-RELAY.AC.UK (2) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Sep 92 17:24:03 EDT From: Scott Wicks (Cornell University) Subject: Names of Thai and Philippine dealers I offer the following dealers names in response to KRIS MURPHY's request. Many of these dealers offer catalogs or lists which require immediate responses to achieve good fulfillment. PHILIPPINES THAILAND Solidaridad Bookshop Nibondh & Co., Ltd. POB 3959 POB 402 Manila New Road Sikak Phya Sri Heritage Publishing House Bangkok POB 3667 Manila White Lotus Co. POB 1141 Bangkok Trai Foundation POB 1707 Suksit Siam 1099 Manila 113, 115 Fuang Nakhon Rd Opp. Wat Rajbopith Libro-Filipino Bangkok 10200 75 N. Ramirez St. Near Welcome Rotonda Quezon City Philippine Research Counsellors POB 1321 Central Post Office Manila Rare Book Enterprises POB 3422 Manila These should get you started. I'm not 100% sure exactly who specializes in current vs older materials. You may want to inquire as to their coverage and get on their mailing lists for catalogs. [Thanks to Barbara Nelson and Thelma Diercks who also sent in some of these names. -- C.] (3) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 08:31 EDT From: Heather Miller (SUNY-Albany) Subject: Bidding Re Brenda Hurst's request for articles on bidding for library materials: It is sad indeed that this specter keeps returning after it has been shown to be counterproductive at best over and over again. Bidding very year is about as bad as it can get! The best put-down of the bidding process that I know of is: Boyer, Calvin J. "State-wide Contracts for Library Materials: An Analysis of the Attendant Dysfunctional Con- sequences," _College and Research Libraries_, 35 (March 1974): 86-94. Also very good is: Melcher, Daniel. "The Fallacy of the Bid Process." In: _Melcher on Acquisition_, 46-55. Chicago: American Library Association, 1971. A little more recent but with New York specific detail is my article: "How Not to Buy Books for Libraries: Contracts, Bids, and Recent Developments in New York State," _Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory_, 14 (1990): 275-281. Anyone who needs to broaden other people's perspective on what acquisitions librarians exist for and why purchasing library materials is in no way akin to buying boxes of pencils or fleets of vehicles, should refer to Joe Hewitt's article, "On the Nature of Acquisitions," _Library Resources and Technical Services_, 33 (April 1989): 105-122. I keep a copy of all these articles handy all the time and have given many copies of Hewitt's article to people, even people in this library, who need to have their perspectives expanded! I hope this information is helpful. (4) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 15:46:27 EDT From: Christian Boissonnas (Cornell University) Subject: Bidding Well, Heather, I agree with you about many things, but not this, so I guess you're going to have to expand my perspective. But, please, don't send me photocopies of these articles. I've got them all. So, why am I a strong advocate of bidding? In 1990 I asked vendors to bid for Cornell's firm order business. I calculated that this process allowed us to purchase 6% more books on the same money as we had the year before. This is documented in my "Firm Order Bidding: The Cheapest Way to Buy Books?" _Against the Grain_ 2:4 (September 1990), pp. 23- 25. In fact I feel so positive about the process that I'm thinking about how to do it for serials. Of course I agree with you that it isn't the answer for everybody in all situations. It may not even be the best answer for most situations, especially when the cost of the process is likely to outweigh its benefit. I'm thinking here especially of libraries with small book budgets. You also correctly mention the New York State process as an example of how to not do it. You may be perfectly correct in that without invalidating the idea that it can work if it is well done. Barbara Winters, the Queen of Bidding, once told me that Virginia's decision to require state libraries to bid their book purchases caused much angst among librarians but that the process had been educational and not so terrible. Certainly it can be made terrible, which is why librarians and not other purchasing agents should control it. I did it, it wasn't terrible, and I earned much positive recognition from the folks here who, let us not forget, pay my salary and expect me to spend their money wisely. (5) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1992 11:25 EST From: Deborah Fetch (Pennsylvania State University) Subject: Pre-order searching The technical services units of Penn State University Libraries are undergoing a comprehensive review of pre-order searching routines. Currently, pre-order searching is handled in the bibliographic processing unit (cataloging). We are interested in how pre-order searching workflow is handled at other institu- tions: who does the searching; how many searchers/number of items searched; what are your procedures; how do you train searchers and selectors, etc... We would appreciate any information and/or documentation you are willing to share. Please e-mail or contact me directly. I will summarize for ACQNET if others are interested. ******* END OF FILE ****** ACQNET, Vol. 2, No. 91 ****** END OF FILE *******