The letter I use for unsolicited materials -- Rick Anderson Stephen D. Clark 13 Dec 2000 18:13 UTC
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: The letter I use for unsolicited materials Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 09:26:31 -0800 From: Rick Anderson <rickand@unr.edu> I've had a number of requests from SERIALST subscribers asking for a copy of the form letter I use when publishers send unsolicited material. Enough requests, in fact, that instead of responding to them directly I'm going to post the text of that letter below. Obviously, I assert no copyright -- use or alter it as you wish. By the way, I use this letter both in response to unsolicited monographs and when publishers treat our firm orders as if they were standing orders, automatically sending us "updates" that we had not specifically requested (law publishers, ironically, are especially prone to this sort of thing). If you're going to use a letter like this for the latter type of situation, make sure that your firm orders state clearly that they are not intended as standing orders; if your orders aren't clear and the publication is serial in nature, you can't necessarily blame the publisher for assuming a standing order. One more "by the way": in the letter I refer to U.S. Code Title 39, Section 3009. If you'd like to see the exact language, go here: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/unframed/39/3009.html Here's the text I use: "Dear Sir/Madam, We have received from you a book which we did not order, along with an invoice; please find a copy enclosed. As far as we can tell, it was sent to us in hopes that we would wish to purchase. This marketing approach is illegal. In accordance with Title 39 of the U.S. Code, Section 3009, we will consider this book to be a gift, and we will either keep or dispose of it as we see fit. We will do the same with any unsolicited materials you send us in the future; this includes unsolicited updates of books we have purchased in earlier editions. You may feel free to continue sending us free books if you wish. Be advised, however, that we will not pay for books we have not ordered, nor will we invest the staff time necessary to return them to you, even if you provide postpaid shipping labels. You would probably do best to cease sending us unsolicitied materials and to desist from establishing standing orders for us without our consent. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Best regards," ------------- Rick Anderson Electronic Resources/Serials Coordinator The University Libraries University of Nevada, Reno 1664 No. Virginia St. Reno, NV 89557 PH (775) 784-6500 x273 FX (775) 784-1328 rickand@unr.edu