Committee on Relations with Information Vendors
1999-2000 Annual Report

Building on the work of the 1998–99 Committee on Relations with Information Vendors (CRIV), the chief goal of the 1999–2000 committee was to solidify and expand an existing program of wide-ranging initiatives that includes committee site visits to legal publishers, timely communication to the library and publishing communities by print (CRIV Sheet) and electronic (CRIVGrams) means, problem resolution through informal mediation efforts, the development of practical "CRIVTools" to assist librarians in their day-to-day work, and effective distribution of information through a content-rich, easily navigated Web site (CRIVPage). With the hard work of a dedicated group of volunteer committee members, not only was this goal achieved, it was in fact surpassed as several new initiatives were introduced. In doing so, CRIV pursued in earnest its charge to "facilitate communications between information vendors and the members of the Association and the Executive Board in matters relating to provision of information in any format..., monitor complaints and provide constructive suggestions to vendors..., foster a cooperative working relationship between librarians and information vendors..., [and] keep the membership informed of developments in legal publishing." As in the past, this charge boiled down to a basic overriding objective: facilitating a productive relationship between librarians and publishers.

An important linchpin in CRIV's program for fulfilling this objective is keeping librarians and publishers supplied with timely and accurate information about developments, big and small, in legal publishing. The CRIV Sheet, this year co-edited by Richard Humphrey and Michelle Wu, has always served this purpose well, but in today's world electronic tools are often able to do it even better. Under the direction of Mediation Subcommittee chair Chris Graesser, the committee continued to use CRIVGrams as one of its most effective means of keeping recipients abreast of industry developments and the resolution of specific problems. Although primarily a current awareness device, CRIVGrams are archived on CRIVPage, the committee's Web site and another integral component of its efforts to not only produce but also effectively distribute information that assists librarians and publishers in their efforts to work together. Anne Myers, the committee's Webmaster, did a remarkable job this year in improving the design and currentness of what was already an outstanding site, putting it on track as the Web site of choice for law librarians seeking information about or help with the legal publishing business.

Another area in which the committee solidified its previous work was in the development of tangible resources to help librarians work more effectively with publishers. The "CRIV Tools" subcommittee, chaired by Rosanne Krikorian, continued to offer practical resources designed to assist librarians in their day-to-day interactions with the legal publishing world. Chief among them was a lengthy "Divested Products List" that allows the identification of the current publisher of a title whose original publisher has ceased to exist. Other new tools included ideas for "Getting Results from Customer Service," a "Checklist for the Negotiation of Internet Subscriptions," and suggestions for "Making the Best Use of the Exhibit Hall." All of these tools were made available in electronic form on CRIVPage and some were also distributed in print form through the CRIV Sheet.

A final way in which CRIV seeks to encourage a productive relationship between librarians and publishers is by communicating the library community's needs and interests to publishers. In this regard, CRIV again engaged in two site visits to individual legal publishers in 1999–00: Aspen Legal Publishers and CCH, Inc., both in Spring 2000. Organized by a subcommittee ably chaired by Frosty Owen, these visits were described in extensive reports to the membership that were distributed through CRIVPage and, ultimately, published in the CRIV Sheet. CRIV uses these visits to bring directly to the publisher questions and issues that are submitted prior to the visit by librarians in response to solicitation for input by the committee. These questions bring focus to the site visits and have played a large part in achieving what have been productive exchanges of information about the needs, both specific and general, of the library community in today's volatile legal information environment.

An offshoot of the site visit concept is a new initiative that received a "trial run" this year: a publisher "site visit" to a library. At the invitation of CRIV and with the generous support of CRIV member Frosty Owen and his law firm, Hutton & Williams, BNA visited both the law firm and the Virginia State Law Library for an entire day in June 2000. In addition, the guests from BNA met with members of the Virginia Association of Law Libraries over an extended lunch. The object of such a visit is to give publishers a first-hand look at how law libraries operate, and, particularly, how publisher practices and decisions affect libraries on a practical, day-to-day level. From this standpoint, the BNA visit was quite successful and it is likely that this activity will be continued in the future.

While CRIV is definitely a "twelve-month" committee, with activities ongoing throughout the year, the committee also utilizes the venue provided by AALL's annual meeting as an opportunity to pursue its goals. During the 2000 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, CRIV conducted an "Open Forum on Customer Service," organized by Marian Parker, in which the heads of customer service from five major legal publishers described their operations and general philosophies and responded to questions and comments from participants. In addition, the chair participated in an educational program, "Gateways Through the Vendor Maze: Using Technology—And Other Tricks—To Manage Legal Publishers," which focused in part on the work of CRIV.

Even this brief summary is sufficient to indicate that the level of CRIV activity remained high in 1999–00. As in the past, each member made substantial contributions in many areas and it was a great privilege (and pleasure) for me to serve as the chair of such an industrious and creative committee. Of course, ultimately CRIV's success depends on the willingness of librarians and publishers to seek ways to work together productively, and we were fortunate to have a high level of commitment to this end in the past year. I am confident that it will continue in 2000–01.

Frank G. Houdek, Chair