Seems to me we have several legitimate concerns here.
1. West's refusal (or inability) to provide clear pricing --to
Svengalis or others. This needs to be addressed with every senior
person at West in every way possible. If their argument is that they
make so many special contracts with individual firms that they cannot
provide pricing, then it is clear they have had us all working against
each other to enhance their monopoly and hide the cost of doing business
with West.
2. West's outrageous price increases and pricing in general --
recent example is the new RegsPlus--where they have included the option
to get a PDF of a Federal Register document priced at $ 25.00 per
document! Yes, I know--you can argue that you have a better contract,
etc., but you can get a PDF of a Federal Register document from
HeinOnLine as part of a very, very reasonable subscription package at no
where near this cost.
Is Thomson doing well with these prices? Here are 2005 report
figures from Thomson:
SEGMENT DATA ($000s)
Sales (SOURCE: 10-K
12/31/2005)
Legal & Regulatory 3,491,000
Learning 2,319,000
Financial 1,897,000
Scientific & Healthcare 1,018,000
Corporate & Other NA
Eliminations -22,000
I think AALL and everyone of us needs to have a conversation with
West about how to keep increases lower. Double digit increases each
year are not sustainable for our institutions and if that means that
West stops creating costly color advertising or supplying parties and
party favors then we need consider our real needs here.
I was disturbed to read in one of the recent postings that a
negotiator was brought in to develop the online contract because " The
management of my firm decided that I could not possibly be getting a
good deal (I am too close to the vendors)" This cannot be the image
we want to project and it cannot help our institutions. West's pricing
and negotiations have created additional negotiating costs for our
institutions, taken additional time away from our responsibilities, and
have successfully divided us so that while we scramble to get the best
price we obliterate information on the "real" price.
In my humble opinion (and this is not to be construed as the opinion of
my institution), we need to have several conversations about pricing
with West Publishing.
Margi Heinen
Manager of Library Services
Sherman & Howard L.L.C.
633 17th Street, Suite 3000
Denver, CO 80202
303.299.8231
mheinen@sah.com
________________________________
From: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu] On
Behalf Of Jim Milles
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 10:54 AM
To: Carol Bredemeyer
Cc: law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Re: FW: Svengalis on West pricing
I've always been bothered by West's practice, in the last few years, of
mailing out buttons for us to wear at the conference. I understand that
West reps have been handing out dollar bills to any conference attendess
spotted wearing the button? I've refused to wear the button; that was
just too much for me to accept. Maybe we should return the buttons when
we talk to the reps at the booth.
Jim
On 5/1/06, Carol Bredemeyer <bredemeyer@nku.edu> wrote:
Perhaps the better strategy is for everyone to go to the West
booth and ask them to cooperate and provide the requested information.
If West dignitaries are recognized at events, make a point to talk to
them afterward and ask them to cooperate. There's strength in numbers.
********************************************************************
CAROL BREDEMEYER
ASST. DIR. FOR FACULTY SERVICES
SALMON P. CHASE COLLEGE OF LAW LIBRARY
NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
NUNN DRIVE
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY 41099-6110
PHONE (859)572-5395
FAX (859)572-6529
EMAIL: bredemeyer@nku.edu <mailto:bredemeyer@exchange.nku.edu>
"Every man owes some of his time to the upbuilding of
the profession to which he belongs".
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
president, or that we are to stand by the president
right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is
morally treasonable to the American public."
-Theodore Roosevelt
*********************************************************************
________________________________
From: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu
[mailto:owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Stanley Conrad
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 12:56 PM
To: law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Re: Svengalis on West pricing
To have a dozen marketing reps standing idle during three days
in St. Louis (watching all attendees actively focused on the non-West
exhibitors) could have a huge impact on West.
Stanley Conrad, JD/MLS
Reference / Special Collections Librarian (on leave)
St. John's University School of Law
Jamaica, New York
===================================<
On 5/1/06, Frye, Nanna <Nanna.Frye@jud.ca.gov> wrote:
I think for a boycott to be effective here, one would
have to boycott the product itself, not the freebies or the exhibits.
Which of us can boycott West's products?!?
Nanna Frye, Law Librarian
Court of Appeal
San Diego, CA
________________________________
From: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu [mailto:
owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu <mailto:owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu> ] On Behalf
Of Lee Warthen
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 9:09 AM
To: Kendall F. Svengalis; law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Svengalis on West pricing
Has anyone considered boycotting the West exhibit and
the West party in St. Louis in response to the problem?
--Lee Warthen
SJ Quinney Law Library
University of Utah
________________________________
From: Kendall F. Svengalis
[mailto:rilawpress@comcast.net]
Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2006 7:06 AM
To: law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Responses to my posting
Colleagues,
I received dozens of supportive e-mails In response my
post and, in response to a number of requests, I share some of them with
you. They have been edited to preserve the anonymity of their authors.
Ken Svengalis
-- Jim Milles Associate Dean & Director of the Law Library Associate Professor of Law University at Buffalo Law School The State University of New York 208 O'Brian Hall Buffalo, NY 14260 (716) 645-2089 jgmilles@buffalo.edu
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