Transitions: An Agent’s Perspective Leslie Covington E Journals Account Manager EBSCO Information Services

Considering a New Vendor Interview your perspective vendors -Who would be your day-to-day to contact? -Who else would you work with? -How is the vendor structured? Ask to meet your day to day contact, even if by phone Get references -Similar accounts -Accounts handled by the same day to day contact Evaluate your needs and determine if which vendor best meets them Clearly outline your needs and be specific

Other Considerations Should you transition to a new vendor and transition to online at the same time? -Every transition has bumps in the road; does combining multiple goals compound the problem? Transition a small amount of subscriptions as a test run If you use multiple vendors, divide your subscription list among them by publisher -Review list frequently to shift any publisher changes Are you a part of a consortia? -Some consortia deals are vendor driven -Some deals are only invoiced through a set vendor

No Matter What, Communication Is Key Learn the lingo -E Only: Is this what format you prefer for your subscriptions or is it the name of the publisher model? Be specific in any requests -Titles come in many formats with many options -Are you really intending to cancel that title or just move it to another format? Keep your vendor in the loop -Are you working on a “big deal”? -Do you order any packages or collections that result in special pricing? -Do you have any packages or deals that require you to maintain your subscriptions? Use your network! Don’t see it? Can’t find it? Ask!

“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” -James Joyce ( )

Our Transition From Print to Online Over half of our orders are for an online only subscription or contain an online component. In general, more focus on E and improving E processes Ten years ago, did you ever pay for a single item that cost more than $100,000? One Million Dollars? -Previously our system could only handle invoicing amounts equal to or less than $99,999. Reporting -New reports developed -Revision of some of the older reports Notification -Publisher model changes when the online is no longer included with the print at no additional charge -Publisher model changes that impact price -Availability of new options

Lump sum invoicing from publishers -Created detailed invoicing Registration ID’s -Actively seeking and following up for this information from publishers -Storing and providing on reports -Automatically advising customers of registration ID when received Ability to provide registration and access information to customers easily Development of E Related Tools -EJS -A to Z -LinkSource Order slips with additional information -Contact name, , phone, fax and IP information -Publisher Journal ID Creation of new positions throughout to accommodate E Creation of package codes in order to easily identify package (or potential package titles)

Identified and added Open Access titles to our title files Publisher groupings Quicker turn around time for orders with an e component Set standards for company Training, training, training

Vendor Services Working for You The source for quality information -Available formats for ordering Pricing or assistance with publishers where prices must be quoted -Journal access models What type and how much access Archive rights -Title information Behind schedule Name changes Delayed publication information Ability to invoice via EDI Historical record of your titles Information regarding which titles are included in packages

Assistance with registration Verification of your renewal changes against the terms of any agreements that you may have One stop shopping Verification of title lists when dealing with a publisher package invoice Ability to divide a single publisher invoice among multiple individual subscribers Help with consortia -Information regarding available deals -Help with licensing and negotiation when requested -Help with information gathering and sharing with a publisher -Payment of a lump sum consortia invoice but billing to individual libraries

Coming Soon More data that can be loaded electronically into ERMS More capabilities to register and activate subscriptions on your behalf Better information regarding titles moving in and out of package deals Customer interfaces -Process package renewals on the web -Receive notifications and process any renewal changes based on the information More help with licensing and license information Actively working with publishers E Books

“A minute's success pays the failure of years.” -Robert Browning