ACQNET v3n039 (April 6, 1993) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/serials/stacks/acqnet/acq-v3n039 ISSN: 1057-5308 *************** ACQNET, Vol. 3, No. 39, April 6, 1993 ===================================== (1) FROM: Christian SUBJECT: Who's new on ACQNET today (14 lines) (2) FROM: Ron Ray SUBJECT: Staff use of the Internet (76 lines) (3) FROM: Wayne Perryman SUBJECT: Mexican materials vendors (10 lines) (4) FROM: Barbara Nelson SUBJECT: Mexican materials vendors (8 lines) (5) FROM: Eric Carpenter SUBJECT: Approval plans (17 lines) (6) FROM: Gene Dewey SUBJECT: Invoicing requirements (14 lines) (7) FROM: Susan Zappen SUBJECT: Invoicing requirements (12 lines) (8) FROM: Leonore Cohen SUBJECT: Australian vendors (9 lines) (1)------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: April 6, 1993 From: Christian Subject: Who's new on ACQNET today Linda L. Rosenstein Wilma Jean McClary Assoc. Librarian for Tech. Services Library Assistant Univ. of Pennsylvania Biomedical Libr. Los Alamos National Lab. Library E-mail: ROSENSTEINL@A1.MSCF.UPENN.EDU E-mail: MCCLARY_WILMA_J@OFVAX.LANL.GOV Karen Davis Irene E. Kan Spec. Projects Libr., Bibl. Svces Dept. Acquisitions Librarian Syracuse University Library State Library of North Carolina E-mail: K91DAVIS@SUVM.BITNET E-mail: SLTS.IEK@NCDCR.NCDCR.GOV (2)------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 1993 17:51:31 PDT From: Ron L. Ray (University of the Pacific) Subject: Acquisitions staff and the Internet We just requested individual VAX accounts to provide Internet access for all levels of staff in Technical Services (except student assts.)--and I confess to some ambivalence about it. Our immediate purpose is to allow acquisitions staff to use the Internet to communicate with our vendor reps (all of whom acquired Internet connectivity over the past year). Of course not all our staff communicate with vendors on problems, requests, etc., but while establishing accounts and instructing some in use of the Internet, we decided to do it for all technical services staff. Here are my concerns: * Do we encourage or discourage staff to subscribe to relevant listservs, electronic discussion groups? Take for example ACQNET, the e-subscription I value most. I regularly share relevant ACQNET postings with my staff, but do we want several people in the dept. spending their time reading about irritants in PL480 shipments, when it has no relevance to our situation? The PL480 topic is entirely appropriate to ACQNET; and if our library received such shipments, I would certainly be broadcasting the postings. But it is just one of many topics I'm reluctant to see cluttering multiple screens in the dept. (however readily deletable). * Do we establish guidelines for staff use of the Internet accounts, just as is done for phone use (personal calls kept to a minimum, etc.)? While I don't anticipate any abuses in my present dept., in the technical services operation I recently left, excessive talking and abuse of phone privileges consumed considerable managerial attention and energy. In that setting I would have been very reluctant to aggravate the problem by empowering an over-chatty and easily distracted group of staff with individual Internet access accounts (2 generic accounts were used by selected staff for specific activities). Whereas the excessive talking was a serious interference with production, it at least had the virtue of being more easily monitored than e-talking, and expensive workstations weren't being tied up by exchanges of e-gossip with friends in other campus depts. (or states or countries!). This concern derives less from any paternalistic managerial view of staff and more from my own uneven attempts to use the Internet productively without becoming mired in it. We all know that the informality of e-mail elicits a sometimes chatty, gossipy element and the ease of replying to a message encourages a certain electronic banter. When I catch myself too much in that mode, or wading through more e-subscriptions than I can productively digest, I can always make up for it by working a Joe Barker schedule for a couple days--my staff, whose work hours are limited by law, can't. * Workstations/terminals are another concern. Our work is fast becoming exclusively terminal-dependent. Maintaining our production requires nearly all available terminals nearly all the time. If staff use terminals on the Internet for other than strictly work purposes, the result for the time being is interference with production. Even when the purpose is work-related (such as communication with vendors, which used to be conducted on the phone) it increases congestion at the terminals. Each staff member her/his own workstation, each with individual access to all possibly needed applications, is not a soon-to-be-realized solution (and I have some reservations that it's the ideal solution). * Finally, although I thought it had become a dead issue, our computing services administrators, on hearing that we wanted additional accounts to enhance communication with our (systems and materials) vendors, reminded us that the Internet is not to be used for commercial purposes. What else can all the commercial users on the Internet be using it for? I've dwelt on these concerns here because generally I hear the topic of acquisitions staff on the Internet portrayed exclusively as a desirable goal or as a perk for staff morale. Does the experience of those who have acquisitions staff using the Internet bear this out? Also, I'd interested in hearing how acquisitions depts. are integrating the Internet into their operations. At Rutgers we had begun sending certain types of orders over the Internet to our vendor, but weren't entirely satisfied with the procedure since it required double-keying of some information (and if administrators at UOP are right, we were entirely out of line to be transacting such business over the Internet.) (3)------------------------------------------------------------------------ DATE: Friday, 2 April 93 08:10:17 CST FROM: Wayne Perryman (Univ. of Texas - Austin) Subject: Books from Mexico I can recommend the following vendor: Books from Mexico, Apartado Postal 22-037, Delegacion Tlalpan 14000 Mexico, D.F., MEXICO The University of Texas at Austin has used them quite successfully for approval plan and firm order services since 1984. (4)------------------------------------------------------------------------ DATE: 02 APR 1993 14:45 -06 FROM: Barbara K. Nelson (Auburn University) SUBJECT: Mexican vendor We use Puvill, Mexico Division; Empresa, 109-B; Col. MIXCOAC; Mexico City 03920, Mexico. Tel.05/6111513 or 05/5980991; Fax#52/05/5984378. They have an approval slips plan which we use. (5)------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 02 Apr 1993 10:16:28 -0500 (EST) From: Eric Carpenter (Oberlin College) Subject: Approval plans in college libraries Oberlin College Library is seeking information/advice from college and medium size academic libraries regarding use of approval plans. Specifically we would like to know: 1. Is it possible to construct a publisher/subject profile suitable for the needs of a college library, i.e. do approval plans work in a college library setting? 2. Who does the selection, faculty, library staff? 3. Which vendors do/did you use? 4. Would you recommend approval plans for colleges? Why or why not? Please contact Eric Carpenter, Collection Development Libn. Oberlin College Library, Oberlin OH 44074, 216-775-8285 ext. 233 (6)------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Apr 93 11:01 CST From: Gene Dewey University of Wisconsin) Subject: Invoicing requirements Our NOTIS vouchers act as the cover sheet for invoices going to our Accounts Payable Dept. My signature has been digitized and is printed in a grid on the voucher where the various coding and amounts are written for Accounts Payable's entry into the University Accounting System. Our fiscal clerk who matches invoices and vouchers and completes the grid initials the grid in a box next to my signature. Periodically new signature/initial samples are required by University Business Services to make sure that their records are up to date. (7)------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 93 11:27:56 EDT From: Susan H. Zappen (RPI) Subject: Invoicing requirements RPI's Folsom Library has an automated interface with Accounts Payable. Although we create a tape which they pull over and run on their computer to cut checks, I sign one paper voucher giving the grand total of post payments and another for advanced payments. The interface runs once a week so two signatures is no hassle. Perhaps you could use the grand total approach to avoid individually signed invoices. If you have to sign individual invoices, you may develop carpal tunnel syndrome! How are your health care benefits? (8)------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Apr 93 10:33:51 +0300 From: Leonore Cohen (Weizmann Inst. of Sci.) Subject: Australian supplier We are looking for a reliable supplier from Australia who is willing to send to Israel. We have from time to time various orders which we send directly to different institutes or publishers. Please send full address and experience with vendor. ****** END OF FILE ****** ACQNET, Vol. 3, No. 39 ****** END OF FILE ******