US/UK Vendor Review 7 Feb 2007

Steering Committee Membership Tobin Nellhaus, Chair Meg Bellinger Ann Okerson Sue Roberts Marcia Romanansky David Stern Paul Stuehrenberg Joan Swanekamp

Reasons for Review (1) Need to start regularly reviewing choice and relations with vendors in order to determine if we are meeting the Library’s needs as well as possible We will review some of the Western European vendors in coming years Must move toward shelf-ready services We currently have (or recently had) experiments with Blackwell, YBP and Coutts

Reasons for Review (2) Need to supply CCL through an approval plan Increasing presence of e-books Need to integrate with print universe

Scale of US/UK Acquisitions FY2006 – Minimum Total titles: 30,000 Approval:16,300 Standing Orders:3,000 Firm Orders:10,700 Total expenditures:$1,560,000 Approval:$723,000 Standing Orders:$165,000 Firm Orders:$672,000

Vendor Review Process Steering Committee began meeting in late November Determined timeline Established workgroups to examine various issues and provide questions for the RFP Reviewed RFPs from other major libraries Wrote and issued RFP Now organizing vendor visits, which will include “breakout” sessions with the workgroups After vendor visits, will evaluate the vendors and make a recommendation to LMT

Timeline 11 Dec: Initial letter sent to Blackwell, Coutts, and YBP (only viable vendors) 1 Feb: RFP sent to vendors 2 Mar: Venders’ proposals due Late March/early April: Vendor visits and presentations April/May: Steering Committee and LMT decide about vendor May-August: Negotiate letter of agreement, and prepare transition (if we change) September/October: Transition to new vendor begins with 2008 imprints (if we change) : New group will plan and implement shelf-ready book preparation

Workgroups Selectors Acquisition Shelf-Ready Requirements Other Technical Specifications Steering Committee for general matters

RFP Sections 1) General 2) Selection Services 3) Order Placement, Shipment and Billing 4) Online Selection/Ordering System 5) Technical Specifications and Shelf- Ready Services 6) Pricing, Terms and Conditions

1)General section Companies’ ability to meet our needs Companies’ experience with peer libraries References from libraries and suppliers Corporate sustainability Financial information Corporate structure, affiliates, etc

2)Selection Services section Coordination of operations in US and UK Possible inclusion of other English-speaking countries (e.g., Ireland, Canada, Australia) Coordination of multiple approval profiles, including multiple library locations Coverage of publication universe (publishers, formats, etc.) Profile structure and management (subject headings, non-subject parameters, options on including shelf-ready services, etc.)

3)Order Placement, Shipment and Billing section EOD/EDI Firm Orders (including “rush”) Standing Orders Inventory and Supply Shipment Invoicing Claims Customer service

4)Online Selection/ Ordering System section Information included in online systems Firm, “rush” and standing order placement Standing order management Duplication management Database maintenance and upgrades

5)Technical Specifications and Shelf-Ready Services section MARC record requirements EDI workflow Integration with profiles Record availability and quality Call numbers, spine labels and bookplates Binding specs Other processing issues

6)Pricing, Terms and Conditions section Discounts for approval, firm, “rush” and standing order materials Service charges for “rush” orders, shelf- ready processing, catalog records, etc. Shipping charges Deposit account terms Financial estimates

Vendor Visits Dates: 21 March, 28 March, 4 April General presentation and Q&A Use LMC time for the general presentation Sessions with each workgroup Session with Steering Committee

Decision Criteria Seek best balance and overall value Profile system Publication coverage and management Online system adequacy and usability Shelf-ready services Cataloging record quality Integration with Voyager (esp. EOD/EDI) Pricing Other libraries’ experiences Company’s prospects as a business

Some Possible Issues Changing vendors will require committing staff time for: negotiating terms of agreement creating new profiles working out technical matters and new procedures training sessions a transition team, probably for several months Shelf-ready preparation will probably force us to relinquish some local practices (e.g., variations in call number construction) Certain steps in shelf preparation may have to remain here (e.g., some or all bookplating)