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Tendering for library supply: A practical guide
The Review Section
423
Acquisitions Workflow," briefly records Pennsylvania State University Libraries' experience regarding access to a vendor's in-house system and discusses related general issues. In the five pages of "Acquisitions and Vended Services: A Personal View," Dorothy Marcinko offers a rather lightweight discussion of the impact that new services and technology have had on acquisitions and associated library areas. Three essays appear under the third general heading, "Reorganization." JoAnne Deeken, in "Automation and Change in Acquisitions at R. M. Cooper Library," has little to say about technology but provides a very frank account of the politics of reorganization where she works. The other two contributions to the sections are also relatively nontechnical. Nancy Slight-Gibney's focus is historical in "Fast Cat," which deals with a technique to increase cataloging output as implemented at the University of Oregon, while Marifran Bustian ("Acquisitions' Role in Document Delivery and Fulfillment") surveys changes in interlibrary loan and document delivery over the last decade. Two of the volume's most useful essays are found in the fourth section, "Purchasing Electronic Resources." Nancy Markle Stanley ("Purchasing Electronic Resources: An Acquisitions Perspective") and Jeri VanGoethem ("Buying, Leasing and Connecting to Electronic Information: The Changing Scene of Library Acquisitions") both provide clear and helpful discussions of matters to be considered when acquiring information in electronic form. The final section, "Automated Systems and Accounting," also contains two essays. Kristine Murphy's "Interfacing with Central Accounts" deals with its somewhat dry subject on the basis of the experience at Southern Methodist University, while Mary Faust, in "The Acquisitions Audit in the Automated Environment," provides a useful discussion of an important topic to which library literature probably devotes less attention than it deserves. This book is worthwhile reading for academic library staff and library science students. One wishes that editors in general were able to coax more contributions from staff in public and special libraries, whose views on the technological revolution in collection development and acquisitions deserve more attention.
PII S0364-6408(97)00030-6
John Kennedy Charles Sturt University-Riverina Locked Bag 675 Wagga Wagga NSW 2678, Australia Internet: jkennedy @csu.edu, au
Tendering for Library Supply: A Practical Guide. Leeds: National Acquisitions Group, 1995.59 pp. + blank model specification + disk looseleaf £49.50. ISBN 1870269128. Accountability, Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT), outsourcing, and a business focus are issues confronting many library managers. This looseleaf publication from the U.K. National Acquisitions Group (NAG) is a timely publication that has immediate application for many of us. It successfully measures up to its goal of "providing a clear, practical guide to the tendering process for the procurement of library materials." The work is a product of NAG's Tendering Working Party and seeks to provide guidelines for best practice, develop uniformity through the model specification, and avoid duplication of effort. Nevertheless, the authors are realistic and suggest that librarians need to think about their local requirements and use the document as a checklist. In this regard it is very useful.
424
The ReviewSection
While the specifications cover books, serials, and other library materials, tendering for serials supply is not dealt with in detail. The authors point to the proposed guidelines from the U.K. Serials Group as a more detailed source of this information. The content includes the specifications and useful explanations of the reasons for each item. A worked example (Part 2) and the model document (Part 3) are provided on disk (including WordPerfect, Word for Windows, and ASCII formats) and in note format. The authors understandably request that the dtsk not be duphcated and only used within the purchasing organization. Content such as GATT rules, EC directives, and U.K. competitive tendering legislation is specific to the U.K., but not overwhelming. There is a public library bias, but this should not exclude its usefulness to other sectors. A "Code of Conduct for the Acquisition and Supply of Library Materials" includes 15 useful principles and ensures that the tendering process is managed in an ethical and open manner. The work usefully deals with post-evaluation aspects such as vendor debriefing and monitoring. The introduction advises that the work will be revised and updated. I hope that this plan is achieved so that its currency may be maintained. I recommend the publication to all libraries in which tendering is used. The work is not inexpensive for a looseleaf publication, but the intellectual property contained within, its ease of use through the disk supplied, and the potential saving in one's planning process make it worth the outlay.
PII S0364-6408(97)00031-8
Philip G. Kent CSIRO Information Services Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Clayton Vic 3168, Australia Internet: philip.kent@ cis.csiro.au
Networked Information in an International Context: A Conference Organised by UKOLN in Association with the British Library, CNI, CAUSE and JISC. British Library Research and Development Reports, 6250. London: British Library Research and Development Department, 1996. 114 pp. softcover. This multi-sponsored conference was held at the Ramada Hotel at Heathrow Airport on February 9-10, 1996, and brought together some of the leading library and information technology luminaries from both sides of the Atlantic. The conference proceedings were available on the Intemet shortly thereafter at http://ukoln.bath.ac.uk/fresko/, and on the CNI server with appropriate hypertext links to the printed version• The paperbound copy will serve as an archival record of an important conference but, like all such conferences, will become increasingly dated as the delivery of information directly to the user via the Internet develops in local, national, and international contexts. The conference had five focal points: the development of electronic journals (exploring the multitude of cost, technical, and organizational questions they raise); teaching and learning initiatives (demonstrating some of the approaches that can be used inside and outside the academic community); management and service issues (exploring the relationships between information science and other disciplines); networked information discovery and retrieval issues (examples of projects in implementation and research on futures and trends); and specific technical concerns. The conference began with an overview summary by Sir Brian Follett, Vice-Chancellor of Warwick University. (The 1993 Follett Report was the kickstart to the U.K. library and information
423
Acquisitions Workflow," briefly records Pennsylvania State University Libraries' experience regarding access to a vendor's in-house system and discusses related general issues. In the five pages of "Acquisitions and Vended Services: A Personal View," Dorothy Marcinko offers a rather lightweight discussion of the impact that new services and technology have had on acquisitions and associated library areas. Three essays appear under the third general heading, "Reorganization." JoAnne Deeken, in "Automation and Change in Acquisitions at R. M. Cooper Library," has little to say about technology but provides a very frank account of the politics of reorganization where she works. The other two contributions to the sections are also relatively nontechnical. Nancy Slight-Gibney's focus is historical in "Fast Cat," which deals with a technique to increase cataloging output as implemented at the University of Oregon, while Marifran Bustian ("Acquisitions' Role in Document Delivery and Fulfillment") surveys changes in interlibrary loan and document delivery over the last decade. Two of the volume's most useful essays are found in the fourth section, "Purchasing Electronic Resources." Nancy Markle Stanley ("Purchasing Electronic Resources: An Acquisitions Perspective") and Jeri VanGoethem ("Buying, Leasing and Connecting to Electronic Information: The Changing Scene of Library Acquisitions") both provide clear and helpful discussions of matters to be considered when acquiring information in electronic form. The final section, "Automated Systems and Accounting," also contains two essays. Kristine Murphy's "Interfacing with Central Accounts" deals with its somewhat dry subject on the basis of the experience at Southern Methodist University, while Mary Faust, in "The Acquisitions Audit in the Automated Environment," provides a useful discussion of an important topic to which library literature probably devotes less attention than it deserves. This book is worthwhile reading for academic library staff and library science students. One wishes that editors in general were able to coax more contributions from staff in public and special libraries, whose views on the technological revolution in collection development and acquisitions deserve more attention.
PII S0364-6408(97)00030-6
John Kennedy Charles Sturt University-Riverina Locked Bag 675 Wagga Wagga NSW 2678, Australia Internet: jkennedy @csu.edu, au
Tendering for Library Supply: A Practical Guide. Leeds: National Acquisitions Group, 1995.59 pp. + blank model specification + disk looseleaf £49.50. ISBN 1870269128. Accountability, Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT), outsourcing, and a business focus are issues confronting many library managers. This looseleaf publication from the U.K. National Acquisitions Group (NAG) is a timely publication that has immediate application for many of us. It successfully measures up to its goal of "providing a clear, practical guide to the tendering process for the procurement of library materials." The work is a product of NAG's Tendering Working Party and seeks to provide guidelines for best practice, develop uniformity through the model specification, and avoid duplication of effort. Nevertheless, the authors are realistic and suggest that librarians need to think about their local requirements and use the document as a checklist. In this regard it is very useful.
424
The ReviewSection
While the specifications cover books, serials, and other library materials, tendering for serials supply is not dealt with in detail. The authors point to the proposed guidelines from the U.K. Serials Group as a more detailed source of this information. The content includes the specifications and useful explanations of the reasons for each item. A worked example (Part 2) and the model document (Part 3) are provided on disk (including WordPerfect, Word for Windows, and ASCII formats) and in note format. The authors understandably request that the dtsk not be duphcated and only used within the purchasing organization. Content such as GATT rules, EC directives, and U.K. competitive tendering legislation is specific to the U.K., but not overwhelming. There is a public library bias, but this should not exclude its usefulness to other sectors. A "Code of Conduct for the Acquisition and Supply of Library Materials" includes 15 useful principles and ensures that the tendering process is managed in an ethical and open manner. The work usefully deals with post-evaluation aspects such as vendor debriefing and monitoring. The introduction advises that the work will be revised and updated. I hope that this plan is achieved so that its currency may be maintained. I recommend the publication to all libraries in which tendering is used. The work is not inexpensive for a looseleaf publication, but the intellectual property contained within, its ease of use through the disk supplied, and the potential saving in one's planning process make it worth the outlay.
PII S0364-6408(97)00031-8
Philip G. Kent CSIRO Information Services Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Clayton Vic 3168, Australia Internet: philip.kent@ cis.csiro.au
Networked Information in an International Context: A Conference Organised by UKOLN in Association with the British Library, CNI, CAUSE and JISC. British Library Research and Development Reports, 6250. London: British Library Research and Development Department, 1996. 114 pp. softcover. This multi-sponsored conference was held at the Ramada Hotel at Heathrow Airport on February 9-10, 1996, and brought together some of the leading library and information technology luminaries from both sides of the Atlantic. The conference proceedings were available on the Intemet shortly thereafter at http://ukoln.bath.ac.uk/fresko/, and on the CNI server with appropriate hypertext links to the printed version• The paperbound copy will serve as an archival record of an important conference but, like all such conferences, will become increasingly dated as the delivery of information directly to the user via the Internet develops in local, national, and international contexts. The conference had five focal points: the development of electronic journals (exploring the multitude of cost, technical, and organizational questions they raise); teaching and learning initiatives (demonstrating some of the approaches that can be used inside and outside the academic community); management and service issues (exploring the relationships between information science and other disciplines); networked information discovery and retrieval issues (examples of projects in implementation and research on futures and trends); and specific technical concerns. The conference began with an overview summary by Sir Brian Follett, Vice-Chancellor of Warwick University. (The 1993 Follett Report was the kickstart to the U.K. library and information