ACQNET v7n028 (August 16, 1997) URL = http://www.infomotions.com/serials/acqnet/acqnet-v7n028 ISSN: 1057-5308 *************** ACQNET, Vol. 7, No. 28, August 16, 1997 ======================================== (1) FROM: A. Bunting SUBJECT: Stockton Press (27 lines) (2) FROM: M.Cohen, H.Mack, J.Hare, J.Anhalt, P.Stevens SUBJECT: RE: OP Dealers (5 postings) (138 lines) (1)---------------------------------------------------------------- Cross-posted from SERIALST ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 18:25:10 -0600 From: Anne C. Bunting Subject: Stockton Press Today I got a message about a phone call from someone named Andy with Stockton Press who said he could not be called back because he was in the UK. He was calling to tell us our subscription to the _Journal of Human Hypertension_ had expired. We have received Jan-June. I called our jobber and they called MacMillian, the publisher in the UK. Our subscription is fine. They had put some line in the computer program that generated renewal notices and thought it that might have been where someone picked up that we needed to renew. Our July issues is supposed to be in the mail. At first I thought this was a call about a claim but we had not claimed anything. Is this someone going into MacMillan's database who gets some type of commission for getting its renewals? Last year someone from Stockton Press in California kept calling our Reference Librarians and giving the impression that we had missed out on wonderful directories, etc. One of the Reference Librarians was not that experienced and she let them send her an approval copy. It was actually an older MacMillan publication and they had stuck a Stockton Press label on it. She sent it back. (2)---------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 07:22:14 +0000 (EST5EDT) From: Martin Cohen (McGill U.) Subject: RE: Reliable OP dealer Amy Bratton's question about an OP dealer with a high fill rate is just the latest of many related questions posed - speed of response, reasonable prices, search service, ability to turn up foreign books, etc. We've found a dealer who incorporates all these virtues, so I think I'd like to share this information with all of you. McGill uses: Elliot's Books Box 6 Northford, CT 06472 phone 203-484-2184; fax 203-484-7644 (no E-mail) Queries should be addressed to Mrs. Emma Ephraim. You'll probably be thoroughly satisfied with them. I know we are. Martin Cohen Modern Languages Bibliographer McLennan Library McGill University +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 09:02:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Helen Mack (Lehigh Univ.) Subject: RE: OP dealer with good fill rate At Lehigh University we use several sources for OP materials. If the item is newly-declared OP, we try Midwest Library Service. Their OP search operation is probably somewhat akin to that of Bookhouse. For materials which are long OP and those items which Midwest cannot locate within a specified period, we query the requestor to gauge how badly the material is wanted. With any luck, they suggest that we give up, and they go the ILL route. But, for the materials which are truly needed, we routinely send the order to C. Dickens (an antiquarian and used book dealer in Atlanta), which seems to have a network of contacts/searchers both domestic and international. While they subscribe to Interloc, for some reason they do not employ this avenue to search for the materials we need. Recently, we have begun conducting business with Oldhand Bindery Books (P.O. Box 288, Furlong, PA 18925 ph.: 215 345-1553), which uses Interloc as a matter of course. While I have done no studies on their fill rate, my sense is that it is substantially higher than our other sources. I have also been impressed by their attention to detail. When we want a book, sometimes we don't care which edition it is, whether it's a paperback, etc. At other times we want a specific edition and we cite as necessary a certain ISBN or a certain number of pages. With each "hit" from Interloc, I am e-mailed with the quote and pertinent details about the item. I can't recommend this service highly enough. Our special collections curator has his own subscription to Interloc. Personally I don't have the time to run these searches myself, so having a dealer do it for me is very useful. Helen P. Mack, Senior Specialist (Acquisitions) Information Organization Services, Lehigh University Libraries 30 Library Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015-3067 Phone (610) 758-3035 * Fax (610) 758-5605 * Internet: hpm0@lehigh.edu +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 09:32:11 -0400 (EDT) From: John Hare Subject: Re: OP dealers Re OP DEALERS. . . Consider joining/subscribing to one of the cooperative services such as INTERLOC or ABE [American ? Book Exchange]. These are primarily dealers' networks, but they allow outside browsing and uploading. A library can upload a list of wants, which is then computer-matched to whatever dealer happens to have a copy available. You will deal with a variety of dealers, but your fill rate should increase. John Hare, www.tiac/users/cellardr +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 08:46:40 -0500 (CDT) From: Joy Anhalt (Tinley Park Public Lib.) Subject: RE: OP dealer with good fill rate We recently started to use Amazon.com and so far the success rate has been pretty good. The only suggestion is that when they send a confirmation and you call to confirm -- if the book has an ISBN or LC number ask them to verify. Otherwise you may get the wrong book as they do not look at the ISBN or LC, they just verify the author & title. Joy Anhalt *<:o) Head of Technical Services Tinley Park Public Library Tinley Park, Illinois anhaltj@sls.lib.il.us +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 10:00:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Peter Stevens (Univ. of Washington) Subject: RE: OP dealers Hi, Amy, just saw your message on ACQNET. We used to have a very low OP search fill rate. I improved it simply by screening potential OP searches to weed out things like 1921 Peruvian imprints and privately-published small U.S. editions of 1869 pamphlets. Now we don't bother to place on OP search anything for which I feel there is no hope of success. However, our hopes of OP success are still somewhat remote. We use Blackwell North America's OP search operation, in part because we can send them our OP searches as electronic orders and in part because their 8% fill rate is by far the highest of any OP vendor we have used. This fill rate is still pretty dismal--which I think is to be expected, given the kinds of non-public-library stuff we're looking for. Last year, we placed 91 OP searches with BNA and got 8 books, with an average turnaround time of 35 weeks at an average cost of $44. With OP searches, you have to live with low yields. Regards from Seattle! --Peter /\ ------------------------------------------------/ \/\ Peter H. Stevens /__ / \ Head, Acquisitions Division |/ \ /\ University of Washington Libraries, Box 352900 / / \ Seattle, WA 98195-2900 / /____\ stevens@u.washington.edu -------- | Tel: 206-543-1919 Fax: 206-685-8782 | | Acquisitions Division: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~acqdiv/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ****** END OF FILE ****** ACQNET, Vol. 7, No. 28 ****** END OF FILE ******