Acquisitions Committee Annual Reports
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2017 - 2018 2017-2018 Annual Report
Acquisitions Standing CommitteeThe Acquisitions Standing Committee has been in a state of transition this year as we prepare for the new replacement standing committees for 2018-2019. This includes soliciting new members periodically throughout the year and opening up various issues for discussion on the email list. The committee also provided feedback and information to Elizabeth Outler of the Special Committee to Update the Guide to Fair Business Practices for Legal Publishers and the Procurement Toolkit and Code of Best Practices for Licensing Electronic Resources. Members of the committee individually voted on Ideascale for acquisition related topics to try and increase the offerings at the AALL annual meeting.
The chair has been an active part of the monthly executive board meetings and online executive board discussions. The chair has worked with the chairs of Serials and Preservation on the restructuring and renaming of the three committees. After a vote by the members of all three standing committees, the new replacement committee will be names Resource Management.
The chair of the committee will be co-chairing a roundtable on Serials and Acquisitions issues at AALL in Baltimore, Maryland. A report detailing the Acquisitions/Serials Roundtable meeting will be submitted after AALL’s annual meeting.
Outstanding items for next year:
- Need to invite existing members of the committee to the Resource Management discussion forum that will be replacing the email list for this committee.
- The links and resources on the web site will need to be reviewed and revised to be sure everything offered is current and reflects both the needs and priorities of the new committee. Most of the resources still seem valuable but they still need to be checked more carefully for dead links.
- Still need to finish compiling templates from members on how they store e-resource usage and format stats that are both vendor and self-generated to be posted to the metrics section of the TS-SIS Best Practices page.
Respectfully submitted June 27, 2018, by
Marijah Sroczynski, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair -
2016 - 2017 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2016-2017 Annual ReportThe Acquisitions Standing Committee has been less active overall in 2016-17, though the chair has been an active part of the monthly executive board meetings and online executive board discussions. An annual report detailing the Acquisitions/Serials Roundtable meeting will be submitted after AALL’s annual meeting.
Projects for next year:
- We agreed last year to support the Serials committee in compiling templates from members on how they store e-resource usage and format stats that are both vendor and self-generated to be posted to the metrics section of the TS-SIS Best Practices page. In the next year, we need to reach out to that committee to see how we can be of use, from helping to collect the templates, to getting them posted, to keeping them up to date in the future.
- We would like to continue the virtual educational sessions held 2015-2016. We will start soliciting ideas and then speakers, so these can be scheduled throughout 2017-18.
Respectfully submitted June 14, 2017, by
Marijah Sroczynski, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair -
2015 - 2016 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2015-2016 Annual ReportIn 2015-16, the Acquisitions Standing Committee began holding roundtable discussions throughout the year. Participants were invited to call in and discuss a variety of acquisitions-related topics including: e-resources, database access negotiations, diminished financial resources, new staff roles, PDA/DDA, long-term print contracts, and the Lexis Digital Library. The roundtables were held in December, March, and April using Free Conference Call.com. There will be another roundtable in June 2016. Our first roundtable attracted 15 attendees, but the last two roundtables have had as many as 26 participants.
Gilda Chiu, Alan Keely, and Richard Vaughan have assisted me in planning the roundtables. Gilda Chiu was the sole speaker on our March roundtable and presented on PDA/DDA as well as answering questions. Alan Keely presented and moderated a discussion about LSPs, LMAs, and other long-term contracts on the April phone call. Thanks to all who have helped with the roundtables this year!
Respectfully submitted May 5, 2016 by
Diana Jaque, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair -
2014 - 2015 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2014-2015 Annual ReportIn 2014-15, the Acquisitions Standing Committee implemented one new service for the Acquisitions Community. At the suggestion of Ismael Gullon, the committee began sending a monthly acquisitions tip/short email to members. Acquisitions Committee member Richard Vaughan was in charge of this project and he did an excellent job bringing it to fruition. TS-SIS members received monthly email messages on a variety of acquisitions topics including: reminders of relevant acquisitions resources/tools, current acquisitions roles, and preparation for the end of the fiscal year. Several of the emails stimulated discussions among members and this proved insightful. Thanks so very much to Richard for implementing this.
The committee looks forward to bringing more value to the Acquisitions community in 2015/16!
Respectfully submitted June 23, 2014 by Diana Jaque, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair
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2013 - 2014 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2013-2014 Annual ReportThe Acquisitions Standing Committee completed one project during the 2013-2014 term. An annual report detailing the Acquisitions/Serials Roundtable meeting will be submitted after AALL’s annual meeting.
Completed project:
A member of TS-SIS requested the Acquisitions create a list of state statutes that are available for sale from state government. Glida Chiu, Jen Fell, Trina Holloway, and Elisabeth Umpleby volunteer to comprise this list. Several states do offer their state statues online and in print at a lower cost than the major vendors. A request was made to place the completed list on the TS-SIS website. Trina Holloway will notify the membership of this list.
Respectfully submitted June 10, 2014, by Trina Holloway, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair
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2012 - 2013 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2012-2013 Annual ReportThe Acquisitions Standing Committee has not been active during 2012-13 due to no special projects taking place. An annual report detailing the Acquisitions/Serials Roundtable meeting will be submitted after AALL’s annual meeting.
Two ongoing projects:
- Damon Campbell (Florida Coastal) had compiled the results of the survey of cancellations. He plans to have it publish in the TSLL Newsletter.
Update: Damon still has the data and plans to parse it and create a report in the not too distant future. He needs the assistance of someone who is proficient with SPSS (statistics program). Damon has not had the time to learn how to manipulate the data to the point where he could offer in-depth information about the results (per DC). - Anne Robbins (University of Illinois, Champaign) created a blog styled site meant to trace Acqweb changes (http://legal-acquisition-forum.blogspot.com/). Ajaye Bloomstone (Louisiana State University), Lorna Tang (University of Chicago) and Mary Murtha (Univ. of Baltimore) have volunteer to assist with site.
Update: Volunteers have not yet had an opportunity to do any work on it. It might be worth considering if there are ways to encourage volunteer participation. This can’t be a useful project without a consistent volunteer effort (per AR).
Respectfully submitted June 11, 2013, by Trina Holloway, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair
- Damon Campbell (Florida Coastal) had compiled the results of the survey of cancellations. He plans to have it publish in the TSLL Newsletter.
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2011 - 2012 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2011-2012 Annual ReportThe TS-SIS Acquisitions Committee met in Philadelphia on Monday, July 25, 2011, from 7:00 – 7:43 a.m. The meeting segued into the Acquisitions Roundtable discussion, which lasted until 8:30.
At the meeting, progress reports for 2 ongoing projects were given:
- ACQWEB: At its Denver meeting in 2010, the Committee had decided to cut ties with AcqWeb, and assume responsibility for maintenance of a list of law-related vendors/publishers. In Philadelphia, Anne Robbins (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) showed a blog mock-up than can be used to create and maintain the list. Anne, Eric Parker (Northwestern), Wendy Moore (University of Georgia), and Ajaye Bloomstone (LSU) volunteered to work on populating the blog with information about vendors of interest.
- Collection development policies: We were unable to link to the policies on the ALL-SIS site, since that site is password-protected with a password only available to ALL-SIS members. To date, we have been unable to resolve the issue (though many of the members of TS-SIS may also be ALL-SIS members, so can get access to the ALL-SIS password from their webmaster by asking him for it).
During the discussions at the Roundtable, I proposed that the Acquisitions Committee pursue a survey of law libraries to get a sense of what sorts of materials are being canceled these days, which are being considered for cancellation, and which are being kept. Damon Campbell (Florida Coastal School of Law) and Shyama Agrawal (Duke) volunteered to put together a survey. I volunteered to share with them a similar survey we did among academic law libraries in the Chicago area in 2010 in preparation for a workshop.
The survey went live on May 1, 2012, and will be open until June 1. It consists of 23 questions. As of this writing, we have received responses from at least 54 libraries. Hopefully we will get many more! In any case, it is our hope to share the information gathered with the larger law library community, providing a “snapshot” of what we are doing collectively these days, collection-wise, in response to budgetary and other constraints.
Progress on the other 2 issues (discussed in Philadelphia, and mentioned above) has been limited. We still have not found a smooth way around the collection development policy password problem. I also believe that progress has been slow on the publisher blog due to time commitments on the part of the volunteers.
This year, the Acquisitions Committee consisted of the following members:
Shyama Agrawal
Duke Law School LibraryJada Aitchison
UALR Little Rock/Pulaski County Law LibraryAjaye Bloomstone
Louisiana State UniversityHeather Buckwalter
Creighton University Law LibraryCatherine Bye
University of Hawaii Law LibraryDamon Campbell
Florida Coastal School of LawVicky Coulter
University of Wisconsin-MadisonPamela Deemer
Emory UniversityMarilyn Estes
American University Pence Law LibraryMary Gallant
California Western University Law LibraryBonnie Geldmacher
Brigham Young University Law LibraryCecily Giardina
Penn State Dickinson School of LawSara Gilles
Widener Law LibraryMichelle Gorospe
UCLA Law LibraryIsmael Gullon
Mercer UniversityEdward Hart
University of FloridaBarb Henigman
University of IllinoisPatty Horvath
Duquesne UniversityJane Huston
Boston University Law LibraryYumin Jiang
University of ColoradoAngela Jones
Southern Methodist UniversityAlan Keely
Wake Forest UniversityEarlene Kuester
Stetson University College of LawClement Lau
University of Baltimore Law LibraryRou-chia Lin
Hofstra University Law LibraryNancy Macomber
CUNY Law SchoolPaul Mastrangelo
New York Law SchoolMary McKee
Fordham Law SchoolWendy Moore
University of GeorgiaCynthia Myers
George Mason UniversitySharon Nelson
Northern Illinois UniversityEric Parker
Northwestern UniversityLatha Rangarajan
University of Detroit MercyAnne Robbins
University of IllinoisPat Roncevich
University of PittsburghNathan Schmaltz
Charleston School of LawH.C. Singh
Brooklyn Law SchoolJulie Stauffer
University of ChicagoGary Stillman
St. Mary’s UniversityLorna Tang
University of ChicagoPaula Tejeda
Charleston School of LawHelen Wohl
University of Miami Law LibraryThe Acquisitions Committee is next scheduled to meet in Boston on Monday, July 23 from 7-8:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted, May 22, 2012, by Eric Parker, Acquisitions Standing Committee Chair.
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2010 - 2011 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2010-2011 Annual ReportThe TS-SIS Acquisitions Committee met in Denver on Monday, July 12, 2010, from 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. The meeting segued into the Acquisitions Roundtable discussion, which lasted until 8:30.
At the meeting, progress reports for 2 ongoing projects were given:
- ACQWEB: ALA has ACQWEB up and running on a Drupal platform, but the list of publishers has not been updated. The site has a volunteer who acts as the gatekeeper so we have had difficulty updating legal publishers. The Acquisitions Committee discussed 3 options to deal with this, deciding that it would be best to cut ties with ACQWEB, and perhaps put the content into Google Docs, which could then become a webpage on our server.
- Collection development policies: ALL-SIS has collected 191 policies, and they (as of July 2010) were not password protected. There were no objections to our linking to the policies on the ALL-SIS site. As to non-academic policies, those on the TS site need to be refreshed.
Unfortunately, no additional work was completed on issue 1 this year. Depending on discussions at the next meeting in Philadelphia, we may try to re-visit it again in 2011/2012.
Regarding the issue of collection development policies on the TS-SIS web site, I was ready this spring to ask Martin Wisneski (TS-SIS webmaster) to replace our individually-listed academic policies with a link to the ALL-SIS site. Then ALLNET was relaunched, and the ALL-SIS policies page was (at least, temporarily) placed behind a firewall again. That page is password-protected with a special password (i.e., our individual AALLNET passwords do not allow access). I have asked the ALL-SIS webmaster if they will be able to change this situation soon, but they do not have a timeline for doing this. I hope to get clarification from the Committee in Philadelphia on whether to place a link to the ALL-SIS page as is (with special password), or whether to wait until it might become more accessible.
This year, the Acquisitions Committee consisted of the following members:
Shyama Agrawal
Duke Law School LibraryLisa Arm
Boston University Law LibraryJada Aitchison
UALR Little Rock/Pulaski County Law LibraryAjaye Bloomstone
Louisiana State UniversityHeather Buckwalter
Creighton University Law LibraryCatherine Bye
University of Hawaii Law LibraryVicky Coulter
University of Wisconsin-MadisonEmerita Cuesta
University of MiamiPamela Deemer
Emory UniversityMarilyn Estes
American University Pence Law LibraryMary Gallant
California Western University Law LibraryBonnie Geldmacher
Brigham Young University Law LibraryCecily Giardina
Penn State Dickinson School of LawSusan Goldner
University of Arkansas at Little RockIsmael Gullon
Mercer UniversityCynthia Myers
George Mason UniversitySharon Nelson
Northern Illinois UniversityEric Parker
Northwestern UniversityLatha Rangarajaw
University of Detroit MercySara Repinski
Widener Law LibraryAnne Robbins
University of IllinoisPat Roncevich
University of PittsburghH.C. Singh
Brooklyn Law SchoolJulie Stauffer
University of ChicagoGarry Stillman
St. Mary’s UniversityLorna Tang
University of ChicagoDick Vaughan
Indiana UniversityI was invited to and had the honor to attend the AALL Vendor Colloquium, held February 28-March 1, 2011, in Oak Brook, Illinois. During the course of the 2 days, librarians, vendors, and stakeholders made presentations outlining their interests and concerns. The group worked together to draft a set of principles to guide our interactions with each other. While the meeting did not resolve all issues by any means, it did reaffirm some shared principles we all wish to use in our dealings with each other (see http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Advocacy/vendorrelations/colloquium/Shared-Principles.pdf). The work of the Colloquium is being advanced by a working group, consisting of a subset of the Colloquium attendees.
As of this writing, the working group has refined the Shared Principles document, and has developed an action plan (http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Advocacy/vendorrelations/colloquium/Action-Plan.pdf) to guide further discussions and work. Both documents have been advertised to AALL membership, and are currently in a comment period. CRIV will be hosting a roundtable discussion on the shared principles and action plan during the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. The roundtable is scheduled for Monday, July 25, from 12-1:15 p.m in PCC 112(A).
The Acquisitions Committee is next scheduled to meet in Philadelphia on Monday, June 25 from 7-8:30 a.m. As a result of TS-SIS Executive Board discussions, we will be adding to this year’s agenda a report from the CRIV Chair on CRIV activities.
Respectfully submitted, June 28, 2011, by Eric Parker, Acquisitions Committee Chair.
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2009 - 2010 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2009-2010 Annual ReportThe TS-SIS Acquisitions Committee was called to order on Monday, July 27, 2009, at 7 a.m. in the Washington Convention Center. After committee members and attendees introduced themselves and “state of your library” reports were given all around, minutes of the previous meeting were approved by the membership and old business was discussed.
A report was given on the future of ACQWEB and our cooperative work with ALA: the template has been added on the Drupal CS platform, is almost ready for content to be added, and there will be a call for volunteers to do so. A prototype of the splash page was passed around for examination and comments. As of spring 2010, the individual who was instrumental in initiating the revamp of ACQWEB is no longer involved, and there is a question as to how committed ALA still is to the project so the Acquisitions Committee will be discussing how we see ourselves involved in the tool as it stands.
TS-SIS and ALL-SIS will continue to work together with regard to the collection of law library collection development policies by continuing to collect and make them available to the AALL membership.
New business included a lively discussion of possible program proposals for the 2010 Annual Meeting, a request for a volunteer to take over as Acquisitions Committee/Roundtable Chair for the 2010-2011 term, and the Committee Meeting adjourned at 7:45 a.m.
The Acquisitions Roundtable began at 7:45 and discussion ensued concerning migration to a new ILS and the amount of input that a law library might have into the process when the individual library is not the only one involved. OCLC and World Cat were discussed, as were issues encountered with other databases, vendors, and vendor relations in general. The Roundtable adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ajaye Bloomstone
Chair, Acquisitions Standing Committee and Roundtable
LSU Law Center Library -
2008 - 2009 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2008-2009 Annual ReportThe Acquisitions Committee/Roundtable meeting was called to order on Monday July 14, 2008 at 7:00 AM at the Oregon Convention Center Room B115 by Ajaye Bloomstone, Acquisitions Librarian, Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center Library.
The Committee meeting began at 7:05 a.m. Ajaye accepted the appointment of Chair of the Acquisitions Committee for another two-year term, and asked others to consider volunteering for the term beginning in 2010. She noted that this year the Committee meeting and the Roundtable will both be held in one time slot and approximately 45 minutes will be devoted to each. Introductions of everyone present included current budget considerations for individuals’ institutions.
Committee projects: the ACQWEB report was given by Anne Robbins. There is a new web list using Ibiblio. Drupal is the content management system being used and the content display is still in question. The Collection Development Policies report was given by Eric Parker. He suggested that the policies on the ALL-SIS website be combined with those on the TS-SIS website: TS-SIS would be the umbrella site and would link out to the ALL-SIS site. Martin Wisneski stated that the collection development policies would be arranged by library type. Per Alan Keely’s request for a bibliography of articles from each committee, there was a handout of acquisitions-related articles compiled by the group. Both the ACQWEB and CD policies projects continue into 2009/2010.
The Roundtable meeting began at 7:40 a.m. A discussion ensued about why libraries cancel titles, and how this affects staffing. Many libraries are reconfiguring jobs and staff is helping out in other departments. The transition to electronic resources has changed many positions. Other discussion topics included the handling of electronic resources, connectivity, troubleshooting, and foreign legal material purchases in the vernacular, West’s LMA program, and contact information in large publishing/vending companies. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
For the 2009 annual conference, TS-SIS has offered a workshop “Managing from the Middle.” The Acquisitions Committee/Roundtable meeting takes place from 7-8:30 am, Monday, 27 July, and members are encouraged to attend the SIS Education Committee meeting to plan programs for 2010, the TS program “Redefining Work Roles in Response to Changing Collection Environments,” and the TS “Management Issues Roundtable.”
Respectfully submitted,
Ajaye Bloomstone
Chair, Acquisitions Standing Committee
LSU Law Center Library -
2007 - 2008 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2007-2008 Annual ReportThe TS-SIS Acquisitions Committee met from 7-8:30 am on Monday, 16 July 2007, during which time current and future program development was discussed.
The Committee reviewed results of the full-day Acquisitions Workshop (held Saturday, 14 July 2007). Prior to the registration deadline, all spaces in the workshop were reserved, and headquarters decided to open up several additional spaces which were also filled. Attendees evaluated the workshop very positively.
Two task forces have been designated: Anne Robbins (University of Illinois) and Lisa Arm (Boston University) are working with Eleanor Cook (Appalachin State) on the contribution of legal vendor information to the revamped ACQWEB database. Currently, the existing contents of ACQWEB are under a review/updating process prior to the addition of new contributions. Several Committee members have volunteered to assist in the future. This project constitutes an ongoing cooperative effort between ALA ALCTS and AALL TS-SIS members since members of both organizations have heavily used ACQWEB in the past. Eric Parker (Northwestern University) is the Acquisitions Committee representative to a pan-SIS project (along with ALL and PLL) charged with collecting current collection development policies. Martin Wisneski, as the TS webmaster, is assisting to make these policies accessible to AALL members through the TS-SIS site.
On Tuesday, 17 July, from 12-1:30pm, the Acquisitions Roundtable presented a program sponsored by TS, “Tips and Tricks for Successful Vendor Negotiation.” Anne Robbins presented tips and tricks in dealing with vendors through a variety of methods of communication, and Emerita Cuesta (University of Miami) presented information to assist us when dealing with Latin American vendors of legal materials.
Submitted by:
Ajaye Bloomstone, Chair
Acquisitions Committee Chair
LSU Law Center Library
2 June 2008 -
2006 - 2007 Acquisitions Standing Committee
2006-2007 Annual ReportThis year the Acquisitions Standing Committee began to investigate two projects – a consolidation of law library collection development policies with the Academic SIS which will be kept as a single collection, and a cooperative effort with the Editorial Board of ACQWEB to collect, maintain, and make available legal publisher/vendor information. The collection development project has been on hold pending the return of the individuals necessary to speak with within ALL-SIS, and the ACQWEB initiative is just getting off the ground with the completion of a user survey by the ACQWEB Editorial Board. There are already volunteers within the Acquisitions Committee ready, willing and waiting to participate in both projects.
As a preconference to AALL 2007 in New Orleans, Lorna Tang and other members of the Committee proposed, organized and will hold a one-day Acquisitions Workshop titled “Delivering the Goods: Effective and Efficient Acquisitions Processes,” with well-known acquisitions librarians as its faculty. Since all 50 spaces available were filled by the conference early-bird preregistration date, AALL headquarters agreed to open up an additional 10 spaces which in turn were filled also. Lisa Arm’s program on “Blogging and Beyond” is sponsored as a TS-SIS program, as is the program “Tips and Tricks for Successful Vendor Negotiation,” presented by Anne Robbins and Emerita Cuesta.
By the end of the conference, the Standing Committee will have held its usual two meetings, a Committee meeting on Monday morning, and the Roundtable meeting on Tuesday at noontime. In a new format, the first half hour of the Roundtable will feature the “Tips and tricks” program, followed by a one-hour discussion of acquisitions issues.
Submitted by:
Ajaye Bloomstone, Chair
Acquisitions Standing Committee
3 July 2007