Approval Plan Vendor Research Articles

E-Preferred Approval Plan at a Large Academic Library: Assessment and Collection Development Implications

Academic libraries acquiring e-books through approval plans and other acquisition methods might question whether their collections are properly balanced between e-books and print books since patron needs vary across subject areas. This study examines seven years of monograph purchases at Texas A&M University Libraries (TAMU) through the approval plan vendor. Acquisition and use data are analyzed across subject areas. Study results inform how to balance print and e-collections to effectively support academic programs. TAMU purchased 78% of the monographs in print despite adopting an e-preferred approval plan, though most subject areas had higher e-book use compared to print.

Status of Approval Plans in College Libraries

The author surveyed college libraries in the United States to determine their use of approval plans as a method of acquiring printed books for their collections. Survey results indicate recent trends over a five-year period, including shelf-ready books, e-notifications, and virtual approval plans as well as impending use of approval plans for e-books. Findings show a correlation between the size of the library book budget and the likelihood of having an approval plan. The author also presents results from an informal survey of domestic approval plan vendors on the status of the scholarly monograph market and its effect on approval plan use. While the number of books acquired through approval plans may have decreased slightly, overall approval plan use in college libraries has not declined. The approval plan continues to evolve and is an effective, time-saving tool for librarians pressed for time in a rapidly changing digital world.

Developing a consortial shared approval plan for monographs

The libraries of the four CONSORT Colleges (Denison University, Kenyon College, Ohio Wesleyan University, and The College of Wooster) are working together to build a broader collection of library materials with less duplication. One mechanism has been the creation of a shared approval plan, developed in partnership with their approval plan vendor, YBP Library Services. Both the libraries and the vendor faced opportunities and challenges in developing a plan that would be easy to implement, accommodate the various internal selection and acquisitions procedures, maximize the use of vendor services, and support the project goal. The lessons learned and the methodologies developed by this experimental project provide a promising model for monographic cooperative collection projects in a consortial setting.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Vicissitudes of Vendor/Library Relations in the Slavic and East European Book Trade

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the transformations in the Slavic and East European book trade in the 1990s. Among the challenges these changes pose to Slavic librarians are a profusion of new vendors, very small print runs, and a general breakdown in bibliographic control throughout the region. It argues that vigilant and timely selection is critical in order to obtain materials before they go out of print. Cultivating direct relationships with vendors both in North America and in the region is also required in order to continue to build Slavic collections successfully. It also considers the performance of English language approval plan vendors, electronic vs. print, and the ominous implications that the trend toward mergers and economies of scale hold for library collections.

The evolving approval plan: how academic librarians evaluate services for vendor selection and performance

A survey of 291 academic librarians addressed the question of how libraries choose approval plan vendors, specifically how much emphasis is placed on various approval plan services and product features in choosing between competing approval plan vendors and how vendor performance is rated in those areas. Traditional services, including expertise in managing approval plans, e.g., profiling, and acquisitions services, customer service, and discount rate, along with corporate reputation and business practices, retained their core status. Electronic financial transactions was found to be very important to the libraries already using these services. Outsourcing services, e.g., cataloging or physical processing, with approval plan vendors, although newer, appear established and of considerable interest to some segments. Vendor performance was rated highest in corporate reputation, approval plan management, and in electronic financial transactions. Libraries with approval budgets under $100,000 expressed a degree of satisfaction with approval plan vendors on a level similar to larger libraries.

Looking for Approval? Changing Approval Plan Vendors

Looking for Approval? Changing Approval Plan Vendors

Is the partnership working?: evaluating the approval plan vendor

An evaluation of a Blackwell U.S.–U.K. approval plan is ongoing during 1997–98. The goals of this evaluation are: to determine if appropriate books are being received in each subject; to obtain feedback from faculty members involved in selection; and to evaluate Blackwell as an approval plan vendor. The plan’s purpose and context are also being reviewed, especially budgetary and staffing issues. An evaluation procedure was written, statistical reports and lists of titles received on each profile were produced and distributed to departments, and discussions were held among liaison librarians and faculty members analyzing this data. Blackwell’s performance as an approval vendor will be measured against specific performance criteria, including publisher coverage and prevention of duplication. Results from the project to date include revision and improved coordination of subject profiles, experience using Blackwell’s Collection Manager Web site, and preparation for possible participation in an OhioLINK statewide approval plan.

Effects of series authority control for acquisitions

This study examines the effect of eliminating series authority control on the receipt of unintended duplicates, specifically in the context of approval plans. Random samples were drawn from two large plans at the Ohio State University Libraries (OSUL). Data were gathered from the approval plan vendors’ records, bibliographic records, Library of Congress series authority records (for items with series), and the physical items of OSUL-owned titles in each series. Data were also gathered from approval plan vendors regarding their reliance on national-level authority work for purposes of identifying items with series. The data from records were used to determine the degree of variance among multiple sources of series information. The results show that 5,838 series items received by OSUL through these two approval plans in FY1993/94 would not be under series control if national-level efforts of control were not in place. Approximately 1200 of these have series statements that do not match with one or more series statements found on items already in the collection.

The pregnant pause: The time between profiling an approval plan and receiving books

In the selection of a new approval plan vendor, most of the library's attention is on pricing, selection procedures, publisher coverage, and profiling. In most cases, less thought is given to what events will actually take place between the time profiles are completed and books are shipped to the library. Decisions surrounding this time period can make the difference between a successful and problematic approval plan implementation. This article, developed by a bookseller, explores these issues and the options libraries have in the implementation phase of approval plans.

Return to Sender? Analyzing Approval Plan Returns

Approval plans, by their very definition, involve the possibility of returning books sent to a library by an approval plan vendor. If returns reach an unsatisfactory level, modification of the library's profile may be necessary. An analysis of data kept regarding the titles returned can indicate areas of the profile that may need revision. This article reviews some of the information commonly recognized regarding return rates and suggests possible applications of data analysis that may help identify areas of a profile to modify in order to obtain high performance of an approval plan.

Collection development administration at selected major US research libraries

Despite a wide variety of institutional environments and management styles, collection development officers at major research libraries in the USA generally share the same major areas of concern for program administration. Strong support from central library administration is important, and the best environments place a high value on fostering communication and collegiality among staff. Other important elements of an effective program include: dedicated staff positions responsible for selection in major subject areas; an accurate and informative collection‐development policy; a detailed budget allocation system, where selection staff have accountability; regular appraisals of approval plan vendors and collection assessment studies; and articulated priorities for preservation. Cites examples of effective practices found at selected institutions.

Western European Vendors

Many North American college and research libraries maintain approval plans with vendors in Western Europe. A survey sponsored by the Western European Specialists Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries was conducted during 1987 to evaluate the use of Western European book vendors, especially approval plan vendors, by North American libraries. The results of that survey are presented in this article. In general, libraries are satisfied with the services these vendors provide. Three critical areas in which approval plan vendors must be judged are: effective assistance in establishing and observing profiles; providing accurate management (financial) reports; and observing spending limits. These issues determine the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of approval plans as compared with other methods of acquisition. In addition to the results of the survey, a directory of sixty-five Western European book vendors was developed from information provided in the survey and is presented at the en...

An approval plan vendor review: The organization and process

A review of five domestic approval plan vendors was organized and conducted during 1986 and 1987 to meet several objectives. These objectives were: (1) to respond to some staff dissatisfaction with the vendor's service; (2) to determine if the budget was being utilized effectively; and (3) to decide if another vendor could provide better service. After completing a literature review, the Collection Development Resource Allocation Subcommittee developed a checklist which was sent to vendors to guide their onsite presentations. Members of the Acquisitions Department, the Humanities and Social Sciences Department, the Science and Technology Department and the subcommittee completed an evaluation form following each vendor's presentation. Staff also had the opportunity to provide an open-ended written response after all vendor visits were completed. The evaluation forms were tabulated and telephone evaluations were conducted with other libraries currently using one or more of the vendors. The Subcommittee and three department heads used the information obtained through these steps to recommend a change in vendors.

Selecting an approval plan vendor III: Academic librarians' evaluations of eight United States approval plan vendors

This article is the third of three concerning the evaluation and selection of an approval plan vendor for a college or university library. The authors report the experiences of more than 100 academic librarians with one or more of eight U.S. approval plan dealers. Through the use of a questionnaire distributed nationwide, approval plan data was gathered in nine sections: approval plan background, profile establishment/maintenance, plan coverage, notification/selection/profile exclusion forms, shipments/ returns, management reports, vendor contact, vendor/ library communication, and miscellaneous.

Selecting an approval plan vendor II: Comparative vendor data

This article is the second of three which are intended to reduce the time, cost and risk of selecting a domestic approval plan vendor for a college or university library. The authors compare data collected from eight major United States approval plan vendors covering nine areas: company background, employee background, customer service, profile and title selection, profile maintenance, materials forms/slips/returns handling, financial practices, statistical reporting and miscellaneous data. The authors caution that these comparative data cannot substitute for the specific, timely inquiry which should be made when a vendor selection decision is imminent.

Selecting an approval plan vendor: A step-by-step process

This article describes a practical step-by-step, author-tested process suggested for use in evaluating and selecting an initial and /or subsequent domestic approval plan vendor for a college or university library. Assuming that the advantages and disadvantages of approval plans have previously been discussed and weighed by the library staff and that the decision has been made to either (a) implement a plan or (b) switch to another vendor, the authors detail a ten-step vendor selection process including the establishment of a preliminary approval plan design, verification of current vendor performance at other comparable academic libraries, and notification of the selected vendor.

A new dimension in approval plan service

This paper presents the results of a three-month study conducted using the fiche database service offered by a major approval plan vendor and three review tools. The object of the study was to assess the utility of the fiche service to a selector for determining the status of new publications with respect to his/her library approval program at the time of review. A secondary objective was to assess the usefulness of the fiche service as a tool for monitoring the effectiveness of the vendor's interpretation and implementation of a library's approval plan profile.