Yankee Book Peddler Research Articles

Humanities and Social Science Dissertations Published by University Presses: 2010–2014, Exploratory Observations

This study of humanities and social science dissertations published by university presses considers revised dissertations [RD’s] and their salient characteristics. Often dissertations in the humanities and social sciences become the sine qua non for advancement in academia; therefore, it is instructive to ascertain the ecology of dissertations published by university presses. Only revised dissertations [RD’s], and English language presses were surveyed from proprietary data provided by a North American book distributor [Yankee Book Peddler, Inc.] and were triaged for bibliographic aspects as well as for intellectual coverage. Disciplinary alignment, subject specializations, geographical distribution, as well degree of interdisciplinarity, and series publication highlight findings. Library of Congress Classification further articulated disciplinary orientation. Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, but presses are specialized by subject emphases. A significant number of RD’s are interdisciplinary, Eurocentric in subject and geographical coverage, historically oriented across LC Classes, and appear as titles in monographic series.

Observations on Revised Art History Dissertations Published by University Presses

This paper explores basic bibliographic and some intellectual characteristics of revised art history dissertations published as university press titles. Book data available from Yankee Book Peddler were gathered for revised dissertations published as books from 1998 to 2013. This corpus revealed subject concentrations, key university presses, and some intellectual characteristics (including interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary focus). In addition, geographical subject distribution, page counts, and cost were examined. This study offers a quantitative survey of art history books that originated as dissertation research.

Implementing EDI X12 book acquisitions at a medium-sized university library

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate the EDI (electronic data interchange) X12 ordering and invoicing implementation at Sims Memorial Library. The paper will allow practitioners at academic libraries to understand the implementation process, the types of problems and resolutions encountered during the project and the time and potential cost-saving benefits of EDI X12 book acquisitions. Design/methodology/approach – A team of LOUIS (the Louisiana Library Network consortium) consultants and a SirsiDynix manager helped librarians at Sims Library to implement EDI X12 ordering using Yankee Book Peddler (YBP)’s GobiExport Plus service. Vendor and report templates with mapping configurations were established, and tests were conducted until a successful outcome was achieved. Findings – EDI X12 ordering and invoicing significantly streamlined the acquisitions workflow at Sims Memorial Library. A substantial amount of time is saved compared to the previous method of manually creating purchase orders and invoices. Originality/value – The paper is a current case study, and the collaborative aspects and problems and resolutions encountered during the implementation offer original material. The paper will offer valuable practical information and provide a blueprint for those libraries seeking to adopt EDI book acquisitions.

The Price of University Press Books: 2009-2011

Drawing on the data collected by Yankee Book Peddler, this article analyses the average prices and title output of books published by university presses and commercial scholarly and professional publishers in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The authors also sought to answer a series of questions that have long perplexed the entire university press community: First, are too many scholarly books being published in North America; second, what are the channels of distribution for these books, and have they changed recently; and third, can university presses develop a strategy that will enable them to maintain their role as the pivotal source of substantive scholarly research?

The Price of University Press Books: 2009–2011

Drawing on the data collected by Yankee Book Peddler, this article analyses the average prices and title output of books published by university presses and commercial scholarly and professional publishers in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The authors also sought to answer a series of questions that have long perplexed the entire university press community: First, are too many scholarly books being published in North America; second, what are the channels of distribution for these books, and have they changed recently; and third, can university presses develop a strategy that will enable them to maintain their role as the pivotal source of substantive scholarly research?

Library-vendor collaboration for re-engineering workflow: the Kent State experience

Kent State University Libraries and Media Services took advantage of a change in book vendors to re-engineer the acquisitions and cataloging workflow. The process that was ultimately designed is highly integrated and takes advantage of automated efficiencies from both Yankee Book Peddler and OCLC PromptCat. The library has also created a working environment for staff that simultaneously maximizes decision-making while minimizing routine and repetitive tasks. In addition, the library is realizing significant cost savings from the new workflow. A description of the new workflow is provided.

Tools for small colleges: using Yankee Book Peddler to facilitate cooperative collection development

Tools for small colleges: using Yankee Book Peddler to facilitate cooperative collection development

Tools for small colleges: using Yankee Book Peddler to facilitate cooperative collection development

Tools for small colleges: using Yankee Book Peddler to facilitate cooperative collection development

Making the Common Uncommon?

Many libraries have entered into cooperative or consor-tial agreements to reap the cost benefits of electronic purchases, to share a library system vendor, or to divide collection-building responsibilities. However, among such cooperating libraries the formal coordination of approval plan profiles has seldom been attempted. Many questions need to be answered before a group of libraries could enter into a cooperative approval plan. Would the political and administrative costs of designing and maintaining a cooperative profile be sufficiently offset by a broadened overall collection among cooperating libraries? To what degree do libraries acting independently achieve the same approval plan results that a formal coordination of profiles would generate? The Triangle Research Libraries Network (Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is comprised of four geographically-close institutions that have been building cooperative collections for more than 50 years. Some of their agreements have been quite formal and others have been quite informal. This study looks at the degree of approval plan overlap among TRLN libraries; at circulation data for these overlapping titles; and at lists of titles not acquired within the consortium. The results may inform the question of whether separate, uncoordinated approval plans already meet the need of the TRLN consortium, or if consortial approval plan cooperation might benefit the group. An examination of monographs in four selected Library of Congress classes supplied to the TRLN libraries by Yankee Book Peddler over a six month period in 1997 provided data to examine issues surrounding a consortial approval plan. The degree of overlap among the four institutions was defined, and circulation statistics showed whether books acquired by multiple libraries had a high level of use. A list of YBP titles not acquired by any of the libraries during the same timeperiod wasalso analyzed, to examine whether formal cooperation might have usefully broadenedtheoverallcollection.

Marketing to Libraries: An Interview with John Secor, Chief Executive Offices, and Gary Shirk, Chief Information Officer, Yankee Book Peddler

Marketing to Libraries: An Interview with John Secor, Chief Executive Offices, and Gary Shirk, Chief Information Officer, Yankee Book Peddler

A Search for Entrepreneurism in the Library

The focus of this article is on entrepreneurism. More specifically, it is on the search for entrepreneurism in the business of librarianship. When I first thought about this topic, I asked Gary Shirk, former Head of Acquisitions, University of Minnesota, and currently Vice President of Collection Management, Yankee Book Peddler, Inc., to give me his thoughts on the subject. Gary's comments were excellent:

Automated standing order system, Blackwell North America

[The July/September 1980 (6:3) “Tools of the Serials Trade” column included a paper describing a manual approach to the maintenance of standing order files employed by Yankee Book Peddler. This issue contains the second paper in a series of reports by vendors who have been asked to discuss the pros and cons of manual versus automated serials control as it relates to their operations and ultimately the libraries they serve. The series is intended to give librarians a clearer picture of the dynamics of manual versus automated serials files as they presently exist. On a more specific level, the description of an individual vendor's operation provides the serials librarian with insight as to why certain material has been handled in a particular manner and may serve as the basis for a much needed dialogue between librarians and vendors. In the following paper, Ted Franz describes Blackwell North America's automated standing order files. The inclusion of BNA's definition of terms integral to serials work is particularly helpful.

Automated Standing Order System, Blackwell North America

[The July/September 1980 (6:3) “Tools of the Serials Trade” column included a paper describing a manual approach to the maintenance of standing order files employed by Yankee Book Peddler. This issue contains the second paper in a series of reports by vendors who have been asked to discuss the pros and cons of manual versus automated serials control as it relates to their operations and ultimately the libraries they serve. The series is intended to give librarians a clearer picture of the dynamics of manual versus automated serials files as they presently exist. On a more specific level, the description of an individual vendor's operation provides the serials librarian with insight as to why certain material has been handled in a particular manner and may serve as the basis for a much needed dialogue between librarians and vendors. In the following paper, Ted Franz describes Blackwell North America's automated standing order files. The inclusion of BNA's definition of terms integral to serials work is particularly helpful.