Keeping track of journal changes is a full-time job. There is a steady flow of information throughout the year, with a peak in the Summer when letters are sent out asking publishers for their new prices for the following year. The replies to these letters flow in over a period of six months or more. Ideally publishers should respond before 31 July, in order that the main renewal invoices contain up-to-date prices, and additional charges at a later date are avoided. Many agents notify any price changes which are considered to be excessive. The agent's title database is the main bibliographic tool. It is backed up by a comprehensive collection of reference sources.
This contains full details of each customer and their special requirements, and new orders are checked against this to ensure the records are up-to-date and accurate.
This holds full details about each subscription, including title, period covered, amount charged and date of invoice, customer order number and date, etc.
The following requirements should be clearly stated:
In general reminders and invoices sent direct by the publishers may be thrown away, unless they are final demands, in which case they should be forwarded to the agent to check. It could be that a payment has not been correctly recorded by the publisher. Other exceptions are:
Agents operate two renewal systems:
These are a constant headache for librarians, agents and publishers. In an imperfect world this problem will never be solved completely but we do hope to alleviate it. It is a major source of complaint from librarians. The agent can help by offering a speedy claims service, backed up by regular progress reports. Many agents issue their own pre-printed claims forms to their customers free of charge. There can be no set formula for when, and when not to claim.. The best guide is the receipt pattern. What is important is the claims should be done on a regular basis, as many publishers have a time limit during which they will replace free of charge. The following claiming schedule may be used as a very general guide, making due allowance for country of origin:
Dailies - claim after ten days from receipt of last issue.
Weeklies - claim after two weeks from receipt of last issue.
Monthlies - claim after two months from receipt of last issue.
Quarterlies - claim after five months from receipt of last issue.
There are a number of reasons for claims:
The publishers maintain that a high proportion of missing issues arrive or are subsequently found, and for this reason some of them automatically reject first claims if, from their records, it appears that the copy was correctly sent. Others require proof of payment before they will deal with a claim. This is one of the reasons why agents discourage claiming direct. Increasingly publishers are providing agents with up-to-date publication status reports now frequently in electronic format. These enable the agent to trap premature claims and immediately report back to the librarian. The extension of a subscription to compensate for missing issues is a poor substitute for the issues themselves, and is not liked by librarians. If it is a particularly important journal most agents will try and get a second-hand copy, although this is often a lengthy business.
The most common cause of duplication is premature claiming. The delayed copy can arrive after the claim has been sent. The original copy can then be followed a few weeks later by the replacement.
The agent should be informed if continuous duplication takes place. It is most helpful to include the address labels from both wrappers as these aid the publisher in tracing the error. Duplicate copies should not be returned unless requested to do so.
The best way to cancel is to allow the subscription to lapse. Once a subscription is underway it is rather like stopping a super tanker - it can be done but you need plenty of warning. If however, a librarian has a good reason for cancelling mid-term, most agents will attempt to obtain a refund for the unexpired portion of the subscription, but the agent cannot refund unless a refund has been received from the publisher.
The renewal cycle starts up in September. It is important if a library has a standing order for the supply of journals, and there is the possibility of substantial cancellations because of budget cuts etc., the agent should be warned not later than the end of September, when a 'stop' can be put on all the renewals until the position becomes clear.
For some years the world's leading subscription agents have invested heavily to computerise their in-house routines. It is logical for these databases to be available to their customers by on-line link-ups. In addition, there are the distributed processing systems for the complete management of serials within the library. It is important for librarians to talk to the agents, in order to keep up to date on what is available.
It is standard practice for the agent to pay the publisher in advance. In fact, virtually all publishers demand this. It follows that the agent expects prompt payment of invoices, otherwise it is necessary to borrow money to finance the renewals.
Particular problems arise in countries where there are difficulties over obtaining foreign exchange. Agents who allowed credit found themselves waiting for up to a year, or more, before payment was received. Taking into account the cost of borrowing, plus the low discount given by publishers, it was obvious that in these circumstances nearly all the profit on an order is wiped out.
Therefore, most agents now send proforma invoices to libraries who are unable to pay promptly. No subscriptions are renewed until payment is received. If it is not received until well into the new subscription year a very severe problem arises, because in many cases the publishers are unable to backdate the subscriptions, and the early issues are out of print.
When the payment is received from July onwards, it is advisable not to attempt to renew the subscriptions but to use the money for the following year. Eventually the issues for the year that has been missed have to be obtained from back issue dealers. This is a lengthy and difficult task.
Some large agents publish periodical price indexes compiled for the use of librarians in their budget preparations. This is a good illustration of how agents can help librarians by sharing the information available in their databases.
Some agents have a special department to deal with back issues and microforms. This is quite uncommon in the USA where there are special jobbers who specialise in this type of business, and the subscription agents only deal with current subscriptions. The good back issues department should hold a comprehensive stock and issue catalogues at regular intervals. However the sheer volume of periodicals is forcing most agents to hold increasingly limited stocks. Budgets for retrospective purchasing are very limited, space may also be a problem. So the librarian may opt for a non paper format like CD-ROM as microforms become less popular. The agent should be willing to search for out of print copies, and maintain up-to-date records about availability from stock, publishers, reprint companies, etc.
This can be an efficient and rapid means of distribution but it is more expensive as the agent takes on much of the work normally carried out in the library. Even so conditions for libraries in some countries can make it cost effective, and it does virtually eliminate the missing issue problem. The journals are posted to the agents address, they are checked in, missing issues claimed, the contents of each parcel listed on an advice note, and the library notified the consignment has been sent by airfreight, together with the details of the airway bill, flight number, etc.
This service is particularly popular in countries where there is a lack of expertise and trained staff, rather than a shortage of money.
The agent has to make a handling charge plus the cost of airfreight. It is a labour intensive service requiring extensive premises and staff. In some developing countries this is the only satisfactory way for a library, and it saves publishers from big claim problems. Even in the UK many libraries are moving to consolidation as part of the general drive to outsource. Although mailed to the agent, most publishers insist that they know the ultimate destination, and that the appropriate subscription rate is charged.
Tendering for subscription services is becoming more commonplace, as libraries and their controllers seek to obtain the best value for money. While agents have no qualms about competitive tendering, they are concerned about the increased workload being required for less return and often later payment.
Periodicals are different from other commodities and consumables familiar to purchasing officers. It is almost impossible to obtain quotations based exactly on the same criteria. This is often because of price changes and currency fluctuations, but there are other difficulties. It is most important for the librarian to be in control, and aware of the amount of work involved preparing, evaluating, implementing and monitoring.
It can be argued that asking several agents to price large lists is a waste of time for all concerned, because they will not be like for like. Perhaps a better alternative is to invite the agent to explain his pricing policy, and to price only a sample selected by the library.