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RTSD joint committee report
Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, Vol. 13, pp. 433-435, 1989 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
ALA ANNUAL
0364~6408/89 $3.00 + .OO Copyright 0 1989 Pergamon Press plc
CONFERENCE 1989
TASK FORCE ON OUT OF PRINT AAP/RTSD JOINT COMMITTEE REPORT JANET L. FLOWERS Head of Acquisitions Academic Affairs Library University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3902
After the AAP/RTSD Joint Committee’s program on out of print at the ALA annual meeting in 1988, Sandy Paul asked for volunteers to delve more deeply into the problems of out of print materials. Over 125 individuals expressed interest in this task between the program and the Task Force’s meeting on June 24, 1989. Sandy began by reporting that the issue of out of print materials had been receiving some good publicity since formation of the task force. She cited a recent article in American Libraries [l] as well as a series of articles in Against the Grain [2-4]. She also introduced Edward Johnson of Abacus who announced that his company is negotiating with a major library sup plier to bring up an out of print database by the fall of 1989. Readers may get in touch with Mr. Johnson at the following address: POB 543, Owings Mills, MD 21117. Other news included an announcement that the Black Studies Discussion Group was holding a meeting at the same time as the Task Force to discuss the problem of O.P. titles in the field of Black studies. Also, it was noted that Bowker is publishing a new edition of The Glarsary of Terms for the Book Industry which could include some terminology relevant to out of print transactions. At the January 1989 meeting of the Task Force, the members divided into various working groups. The summer meeting, therefore, dealt primarily with receiving reports from the groups. The first subcommittee, “Author Contacts,” was chaired by Helen Miller. She reported that she had sent a letter to 22 author-affiliated organizations asking for their perspective on the out of print problems. She had heard from two. The Writers’ Guild, East indicated that their area of interest is film and television scripts and they did not think they could be of help. Helen Stephenson, from the Author’s Guild, responded and suggested that the Task Force 433
434
J. L. FLOWERS
remind authors that they are normally responsible for asking the publisher to reprint their title or return the rights after a book has been declared out of print. The second subcommittee dealt with basic lists. They expressed concern that often up to 25% of the titles listed on a basic list are no longer available even at the time the list is published. Peter McCallion of the New York Public Library reported on a recent order for 125 fairy tales (all listed in Books in Print as available) of which only 59 were supplied. This meant that 50% of those supposedly available were not, a waste of time and money for the library and the vendor and a loss of material desired by users. Ann Cain, chair, reported for the third subcommittee. This group was attempting to find organizations willing to act as a clearinghouse for information about soon-to-be O.P. titles. Gale indicated no interest. OCLC and Bowker both expressed interest if a way could be found to get publishers to supply the information. Judy Beresford reported for the “Definitions Subcommittee.” In the course of working on their assignment, they discovered that another ALA Committee, the Guidelines Subcommittee of the Acquisitions Committee, is working on a new guide to purchasing out of print materials. Therefore, it did not seem appropriate for them to also develop definitions. Sandy Paul noted that Janet Flowers had submitted a “My Say” article to Publishers’ Weekly in the hope that it would bring publisher response as well as attention to the Task Force. Barry Jones, Chair of the Out of Print Resources Group, was unable to attend, but members reported that the group was attempting to compile a list of out of print dealers by subject area. John Secor and Jackie Thompson reported on their efforts to contact publishers. John noted that the press of business had prevented him from following up on the questions developed for publishers but that his group would do so very soon. Jackie reported on a meeting with the General Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers which she attended. One issue she inquired about was that of an “endangered titles” list which would indicate titles under consideration for O.P. declaration. The publishers responded that this would not be wise because authors would be upset to know that their books were on “death row.” The “library wish list” was looked upon favorably by the publishers who indicated that, were such lists available, they would certainly consult them in making inventory control decisions. On the other hand, they acknowledged that there must be a substantial number of libraries wanting a title in order to make it economically viable to reprint. Kerry Kresse, Chair of the Statistics Subcommittee, reported that the group was having an identity crisis. They were uncertain as to whether they should be gathering data. They noted a number of areas in which statistical information would be helpful, such as the rate at which material goes out of print, identification of sources of information (who is keeping data and doing studies), and costs of the O.P. situation to libraries and vendors. After discussion, the group concluded that this subcommittee should serve as a clearinghouse for information about statistics and not be charged with gathering the data. Jim Mauw reported on a study which he is conducting. He is reviewing the imprint history of two large samples of titles drawn from the American Book Publishing Record for 1974 and 1979. His preliminary conclusion is that there is little difference in the longevity of titles published before the Thor Power Tool decision and those published after. On the other hand, there are some significant statistical differences at the subject level which he has not yet completed analyzing. He hopes to publish his work soon.
Task Force on Out of Print AAP/RTSD
Joint Committee Report
435
The task force plans to follow up on suggestions and ideas generated by its members. Other interested individuals who have information or ideas to share may do so by contacting Sandra Paul at SKP Associates (160 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010).
REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4.
Kniffel, Leonard. “Out of Print, Out of Mind,” American Libruries 20~2 (February 1989), 100. Herald, Gary. “Out of Print??? Not So Fast!!!,” Against the Gruin 1:2 (June 1989), 19-20. Flowers, Janet L. “Send Us Books!,” Aguinst the Grain 1:2 (June 1989), 21. Simon, Peter. “Out of Print Statistics,” Aguinst the Groin 1:2 (June 1989). 21-22.
ALA ANNUAL
0364~6408/89 $3.00 + .OO Copyright 0 1989 Pergamon Press plc
CONFERENCE 1989
TASK FORCE ON OUT OF PRINT AAP/RTSD JOINT COMMITTEE REPORT JANET L. FLOWERS Head of Acquisitions Academic Affairs Library University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3902
After the AAP/RTSD Joint Committee’s program on out of print at the ALA annual meeting in 1988, Sandy Paul asked for volunteers to delve more deeply into the problems of out of print materials. Over 125 individuals expressed interest in this task between the program and the Task Force’s meeting on June 24, 1989. Sandy began by reporting that the issue of out of print materials had been receiving some good publicity since formation of the task force. She cited a recent article in American Libraries [l] as well as a series of articles in Against the Grain [2-4]. She also introduced Edward Johnson of Abacus who announced that his company is negotiating with a major library sup plier to bring up an out of print database by the fall of 1989. Readers may get in touch with Mr. Johnson at the following address: POB 543, Owings Mills, MD 21117. Other news included an announcement that the Black Studies Discussion Group was holding a meeting at the same time as the Task Force to discuss the problem of O.P. titles in the field of Black studies. Also, it was noted that Bowker is publishing a new edition of The Glarsary of Terms for the Book Industry which could include some terminology relevant to out of print transactions. At the January 1989 meeting of the Task Force, the members divided into various working groups. The summer meeting, therefore, dealt primarily with receiving reports from the groups. The first subcommittee, “Author Contacts,” was chaired by Helen Miller. She reported that she had sent a letter to 22 author-affiliated organizations asking for their perspective on the out of print problems. She had heard from two. The Writers’ Guild, East indicated that their area of interest is film and television scripts and they did not think they could be of help. Helen Stephenson, from the Author’s Guild, responded and suggested that the Task Force 433
434
J. L. FLOWERS
remind authors that they are normally responsible for asking the publisher to reprint their title or return the rights after a book has been declared out of print. The second subcommittee dealt with basic lists. They expressed concern that often up to 25% of the titles listed on a basic list are no longer available even at the time the list is published. Peter McCallion of the New York Public Library reported on a recent order for 125 fairy tales (all listed in Books in Print as available) of which only 59 were supplied. This meant that 50% of those supposedly available were not, a waste of time and money for the library and the vendor and a loss of material desired by users. Ann Cain, chair, reported for the third subcommittee. This group was attempting to find organizations willing to act as a clearinghouse for information about soon-to-be O.P. titles. Gale indicated no interest. OCLC and Bowker both expressed interest if a way could be found to get publishers to supply the information. Judy Beresford reported for the “Definitions Subcommittee.” In the course of working on their assignment, they discovered that another ALA Committee, the Guidelines Subcommittee of the Acquisitions Committee, is working on a new guide to purchasing out of print materials. Therefore, it did not seem appropriate for them to also develop definitions. Sandy Paul noted that Janet Flowers had submitted a “My Say” article to Publishers’ Weekly in the hope that it would bring publisher response as well as attention to the Task Force. Barry Jones, Chair of the Out of Print Resources Group, was unable to attend, but members reported that the group was attempting to compile a list of out of print dealers by subject area. John Secor and Jackie Thompson reported on their efforts to contact publishers. John noted that the press of business had prevented him from following up on the questions developed for publishers but that his group would do so very soon. Jackie reported on a meeting with the General Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers which she attended. One issue she inquired about was that of an “endangered titles” list which would indicate titles under consideration for O.P. declaration. The publishers responded that this would not be wise because authors would be upset to know that their books were on “death row.” The “library wish list” was looked upon favorably by the publishers who indicated that, were such lists available, they would certainly consult them in making inventory control decisions. On the other hand, they acknowledged that there must be a substantial number of libraries wanting a title in order to make it economically viable to reprint. Kerry Kresse, Chair of the Statistics Subcommittee, reported that the group was having an identity crisis. They were uncertain as to whether they should be gathering data. They noted a number of areas in which statistical information would be helpful, such as the rate at which material goes out of print, identification of sources of information (who is keeping data and doing studies), and costs of the O.P. situation to libraries and vendors. After discussion, the group concluded that this subcommittee should serve as a clearinghouse for information about statistics and not be charged with gathering the data. Jim Mauw reported on a study which he is conducting. He is reviewing the imprint history of two large samples of titles drawn from the American Book Publishing Record for 1974 and 1979. His preliminary conclusion is that there is little difference in the longevity of titles published before the Thor Power Tool decision and those published after. On the other hand, there are some significant statistical differences at the subject level which he has not yet completed analyzing. He hopes to publish his work soon.
Task Force on Out of Print AAP/RTSD
Joint Committee Report
435
The task force plans to follow up on suggestions and ideas generated by its members. Other interested individuals who have information or ideas to share may do so by contacting Sandra Paul at SKP Associates (160 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010).
REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4.
Kniffel, Leonard. “Out of Print, Out of Mind,” American Libruries 20~2 (February 1989), 100. Herald, Gary. “Out of Print??? Not So Fast!!!,” Against the Gruin 1:2 (June 1989), 19-20. Flowers, Janet L. “Send Us Books!,” Aguinst the Grain 1:2 (June 1989), 21. Simon, Peter. “Out of Print Statistics,” Aguinst the Groin 1:2 (June 1989). 21-22.