ERIC Number: EJ713874
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jun-1
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0363-0277
EISSN: N/A
Vendor Communication
Tenopir, Carol
Library Journal, v130 n10 p42 Jun 2005
Do vendor reps provide librarians with the information they need in the way they need it? Do vendors feel they are communicating effectively with their librarian clients? A recent survey of North American and European academic librarians commissioned by Jim McGinty, vice chair of Cambridge Information Group, and carried out by consultants David Oglivie and Simon Inger may help improve this tricky, but important, communication process. McGinty presented the first results as the annual Miles Conrad Memorial Lecturer at the 2005 annual meeting of the National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS). Almost 200 academic librarians responded to his web-based questionnaire or in-person interviews. Close to 30 percent of librarians prefer in-person visits to find out about new products, but 18 percent chose that as their least favorite. Twenty-two percent like to go to their personal computer for a remote presentation as their favorite method, but for 15 percent that is their least favorite. Vendor web site browsing and vendor catalogs have both proponents and opponents. Reps need to be flexible and know their individual customers. This article briefly discusses the results from this survey.
Descriptors: Vendors, Information Services, Consortia, Audiences, Telecommunications, Librarians, Libraries, Library Materials, Library Services
Library Journal, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Tel: 800-588-1030 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.libraryjournal.com.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Media Staff
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A