Many of you have asked me to post my replies to the list. It probably wasn't a great week to post a query, since I got nearly as many out-of-office replies as responses. In any case, thanks to all who responded. I've summarized below.
I got four hearty endorsements for YBP (formerly Yankee Book Peddler) which is now owned by Baker & Taylor but more geared to academic institutions.:
"We use YBP and highly recommend them, having switched from Blackwell's
about 2 1/2 years ago."
"Most titles are available."
"I loved their service, prices, and electronic ordering. Since architecture was fairly easy to define, I set up my approval plan with outsourced processing, so the books came in with cataloging records, spine labels, and barcodes. And I could have things on the shelf within a couple of weeks of ordering them. It was great. Their database is easy to search and tells availability of the item."
One librarian is relatively satisfied with Blackwell's, and explained why I sometimes can't find titles in their database:
"I use Blackwell at my current, and in past positions have used both Blackwell and YBP (the latter now part of B&T). If a title is in print, in my experience Blackwell has been able to supply it, with the exception of some self-published/vanity press titles...Blackwell's, so far as I can understand it, is built up out of (firm and
approval) orders actually placed by customers. It has a mechanism to allow customers to add titles to the database when placing orders. It is true, especially when doing retrospective collection development, that some in-print titles will not be in Blackwell's; you will have to add these to the database and then create your order record."
There was a difference of opinion on Amazon:
"We used to use Baker and Taylor and Midwest but found that overall Amazon is the most efficient for run of the mill publications. If one knows how to group orders, the free shipping is fairly quick. If you use Amazon, make sure to set up a corporate account."
(contrasted with this, from a retired librarian...)
"Amazon may be useful for an occasional OP item or something that needs to be zipped
quickly into your collection for those folks who never plan beyond tomorrow. But by and large, dealing with Amazon is immensely labor intensive; and their customer service may have improved, but basically I thought that it was crummy. If you just buy a real handful of books each week, then Amazon is probably for you. But its shipping and handling (well disguised profit generators) charges eat up a lot of Amazon's so-called discounts. And if a book is not actually available from Amazon after you have ordered it, well, you have entered a real nether world. With a real book vendor I always considered that it was immensely valuable to be able to pick up a phone and talk to a real customer service person who was willing to help to solve your
problem -- this, to my mind, is what real acquisitions outsourcing is all
about."
Three of you recommended Worldwide Art Books (two specifying that it should be in addition to a larger vendor):
"They are a smaller company than the other 2 but provide excellent customer service. I've had good luck with them."
"We supplement with Worldwide Art Books that has many titles published outside the U.S."
"You need at least one general vendor (such as Blackwell or B&T), at least one specialized vendor (such as Worldwide Art Books), and at least one foreign vendor (such as Erasmus). Having a local bookstore for urgent purchases is very helpful."
That's about it. Happy holidays to all of you.
Lauren Gilbert
Arts Librarian
Education Hall Library
New York Institute of Technology
Northern Boulevard
Old Westbury, New York 11568-8000
tel (516) 686-1448
fax (516) 686-7814
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