ACQNET v3n066 (August 11, 1993) URL = http://www.infomotions.com/serials/acqnet/acq-v3n066 ISSN: 1057-5308 *************** ACQNET, Vol. 3, No. 66, August 11, 1993 ======================================= (1) FROM: Christian SUBJECT: Cornell's Electronic Journal Task Force report available via anonymous FTP (18 lines) (2) FROM: Keith Stetson SUBJECT: Gale salesmanship, telemarketing (10 lines) (3) FROM: Nancy Myers SUBJECT: Telemarketing (11 lines) (4) FROM: Judith Wann SUBJECT: Gale salesmanship, telemarketing (19 lines) (5) FROM: Margaret Sylvia SUBJECT: Gale salesmanship, telemarketing (33 lines) (6) FROM: Carol Fuchs-Halperin SUBJECT: _Against the Grain_ (8 lines) (7) FROM: Victor Liu SUBJECT: Bidding subscriptions, Dawson (13 lines) (8) FROM: Janet Flowers SUBJECT: W.H. Everett (8 lines) (9) FROM: Janet Flowers SUBJECT: Commercial use of the Internet, OP procurement (11 lines) (10) FROM: Diane Seymour SUBJECT: Price indexes for library materials (7 lines) (1)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Christian (Cornell University) Subject: Cornell's Electronic Journal Task Force report available via FTP Date: August 11, 1993 Have you been wondering about how to acquire, store, or catalog electronic journals? So have we, for well over a year. In fact, we still are. While we have clarified our thinking we have found precious few definitive solutions. If you are interested in reading about our work you may do so by requesting a copy of our Task Force's report via anonymous FTP. Please do not ask for a paper copy as I do not have any for distribution. To get the report, FTP to the server LIBRARY@CORNELL.EDU. Log on as "anonymous" and give your e-mail address as password. After you have been accepted, issue the command "cd /pub/acqnet/misc.reports" which will put you in the directory where the report resides. Then issue the command "get ejo.report" which will transfer the report to your machine. In all the above commands, do not include the quotation marks. (2)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Keith Stetson (Fairfield University) Subject: Gale salesmanship Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 08:05:56 -0400 We receive an endless barrage of calls to both me and our Acquisitions Manager. The latest tactic was a call expressing concern that we had not received the latest editions of a number of titles that we had received in the past. They all turned out to be titles we had cancelled as the result of a review of our reference standing orders. (3)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Nancy Myers (University of South Dakota) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 9:38:00 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Aggressive sales pitches I have also found that telemarketing by publishers and vendors is on the increase. It is a tremendous time waster and source of annoyance. I wish they could understand that selection/collection development decisions are not based upon such calls. Courteous requests to desist and mail the information sometimes prove effective. The lack of response to such calls should send a clear message, but doesn't seem to. (4)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Judith Wann (Oregon State Library) Subject: Gale & aggressive sales people Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 21:48:58 -0400 For the past year or so, we've had a Gale sales representative that I actually _like_. She notifies me about special sales, but knows how to take "No" for an answer, and has been helpful in processing rush end-of- the-fiscal-year orders. What bothers me more about Gale is their increasingly fancy advertising. The solve-a-mystery-with-a-Gale-book series was bad enough, but now I've received a bunch of advertisements in a (non-recyclable) plastic tube. I suppose they were trying to make sure we didn't toss the enclosed ads as just more junk mail, but it seemed to me frivolous and a little insulting. I'm sure the price of their books wouldn't go down much if they backed off of the innovative advertising, but at least I'd feel better about it. (I have expressed my opinions to our sales rep who, coincidentally, called the day the tube arrived.) (5)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Margaret Sylvia (St. Mary's University) Subject: Aggressive sales pitches Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1993 00:06:35 -0400 Regarding the comment on Gale salesmanship by Marcie Kingsley, I have had the same problem with Gale in that every month or so I receive a call about whether we would like to order some particular item or place something on standing order. Far from ordering more as a result of this, I now think very carefully about whether I really want to order something from Gale since I know that in the end it will take up much more of my time than a regular order due to the increase in phone calls it will eventually generate. (Do we want to place a standing order, are we aware of other material on the subject that Gale publishes, when can she call back to check on the decision, when will the budget year begin so that more money will be available, etc., etc.) I want to keep a good relationship with Gale and with my other vendors and publishers so that I can quickly and easily resolve problems when they do arise. So I don't want to be rude and I would like to end these conversations gracefully. If I tell the salesperson that I am busy and it is not a convenient time to talk, she asks for a time when I am not busy. Well, frankly, there are no times when I am "not busy," at least not that I can predict in advance. And it seems to me that they use more high pressure sales tactics than others do. In the beginning I made the mistake of noting some items that might be of interest to our clientele and now she makes me justify our decision not to purchase them every time she calls me. I find this extremely irritating. Plus, it's not as if we are unaware of what Gale has to offer in that we get mailings every couple of weeks it seems. (6)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Carol Fuchs-Halperin (National Medical Library [Israel] Subject: _Against the Grain_ Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1993 05:10:09 -0400 Can I have a little more information on the publication _Against the Grain_? (7)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Victor Liu (Washtenaw Community College) Subject: Request for bids from subscription vendors, Dawson Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1993 16:37:48 -0400 I'm planning to bid out my periodical subscriptions to several vendors: Ebsco, Faxon, Dawson, etc. Does anybody have any positive or negative experiences with Dawson? More importantly, I would very much like to obtain samples of the requests for bids that libraries send out to vendors. These RFP's will give me a sense of the kind of specifications and expectations different libraries have of periodical vendors. My mailing address: Washtenaw Community College, Learning Resource Center, P.O. Box D-1, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. (8)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Janet Flowers (Univ. of North Carolina) Subject: W. H. Everett and Son Ltd Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 07:49:43 -0400 Could anyone who is currently using Everett for monographic firm order purchases please contact me privately regarding the quality of their service? Thank you. (9)------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Janet Flowers (Univ. of North Carolina) Subject: "Commercial" Use of the Internet Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1993 09:58:52 -0400 Can anyone provide some background information regarding the legality of using the Internet to pursue the acquisition of out of print titles? One of my staff members would like to try posting lists to freenets in hopes that local vendors in that area will respond. What experiences have others had? What do you think of this idea? Thanks for any information/advice. (10)----------------------------------------------------------------------- From:(Diana W. Seymour (Dartmouth College) Subject: CPI for library materials Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1993 15:15:32 -0400 Does anyone know of a compilation, similar to the Consumer Price Index, for library materials covering the years 1985 to date? ****** END OF FILE ****** ACQNET, Vol. 3, No. 66 ****** END OF FILE ******