Vendor Liaison Goals

Happy New Year!  The January issue of the Vendor Liaison Update is now available on AALLNET.

I’d like to begin the year by thanking all the people who contributed to a successful vendor relations program in 2012, including the members of the Committee on Relations with Information Vendors (CRIV), the Price Index for Legal Publications Committee, the AALL Guide to Fair Business Practices for Legal Publishers Revisions Task Force, the Library Procurement Process Improvements Task Force, and the Consumer Advocacy Caucus, and, most especially, the individual AALL members who took the time to write, call, or comment about vendor relations issues.

As we begin 2013, I’d like to share this summary of program goals for the new year.

Goals for 2013:

• Present a final draft of the Vendor Relations Policy for adoption at the spring 2013 Executive Board meeting.*
• Assist the AALL president in forming an implementation plan for furthering the goals of the Colloquium Action Plan.
• Continue to support the work of the Library Procurement Process Improvements Task Force; assist the task force with submitting its final report and work products to the board for the spring 2013 meeting; and participate in planning the Fishbowl Fun licensing program for the 2013 Annual Meeting.
• Provide support for marketing the new edition of the Guide to Fair Business Practices for Legal Publishers.
• Work with our current vendor partners to secure their commitment to support the principles outlined in the Guide to Fair Business Practices for Legal Publishers; request their comments on the vendor relations policy draft; and advocate for transparent and library-friendly policies and pricing structures for e-books.
• Identify other legal publishers with whom AALL should establish a relationship regarding vendor relations issues.
• Work with CRIV and staff on reorganizing the vendor relations pages on AALLNET.
• Continue to work with CRIV, the Price Index for Legal Publications Committee, and other AALL entities as appropriate.
• Continue outreach to chapters and special interest sections.

*AALL members should watch their email in February for a call for comments on the final draft.

I appreciate the collaborative spirit that helps us move these issues forward and look forward to another successful year. I encourage AALL members to contact me at any time with comments or questions.