Re: The next step: eliminating invoice payment -- Peter Picerno Stephen Clark 01 Apr 2003 19:58 UTC
Subject: RE: The next step: eliminating invoice payment -- Jeanette Skwor From: "Peter Picerno" <ppicerno@nova.edu> Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 12:45:17 -0500 Okay, I'll bite (byte?)! Casting my ill-fated $0.02 (which may be worth even less given recent stock market trends) on this most auspicious and suspicious of days ... in answer to Ms. Skwor and Mr. Anderson: *** Hah! WHAT Shelves?? We gave those up years ago. *** If it's not online, we don't have it ... (you want books, go to a bookstore!!) *** Of course we have more meetings (like Jeanette) but we conference-call from home (saves on the refreshment bills) which is where we all work (after all you can catalog e-books from home with Z39.50 not to mention your standard web-access to your opac) *** Furthermore, patrons can self-check-out any realia which might still exist in the building, reference is handled by e-mail or phone, BI is online through tutorials, and all ILL or other requests are made through forms on the home page, therefore there is really not much need for the building anymore except for remote storage for archives, the few un-digitized special collections and for administrators (are they also in remote storage ... hmmmm) *** And all our paychecks are direct deposit. Peter Picerno -----Original Message----- Subject: RE: The next step: eliminating invoice payment -- Rick Anderson From: "Skwor, Jeanette" <skworj@uwgb.edu> Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 10:54:19 -0600 ***All right, that's it. ***Here at UWGB, I refuse to take a back seat to innovation any longer; we will stop shelving the little critters also. Lest anyone suspect I am no longer worth my paycheck, I will institute more meetings. Daily, in fact. Replete with doughnuts. ***Thanks for brightening my day! [:-)] In the spirit of innovation, prioritizing, & April Fools, Jeanette L. Skwor Cofrin Library, Serials Dept. University of WI - Green Bay 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2670 -----Original Message----- Subject: The next step: eliminating invoice payment From: "Rick Anderson" <rickand@unr.edu> Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 08:16:55 -0800 On this auspicious date, I am proud to announce another groundbreaking initiative from the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries. In this era of tight budgets, we must do all that we can to conserve our scarce resources. Here at Nevada, where we have increased efficiencies significantly by doing away with periodical check-in, we are preparing to take another great step towards full efficiency by implementing another bold program: the elimination of invoice payment. Some people say we're crazy, and we do recognize that this initiative is not without certain risks. However, there is no denying that the invoice-payment process constitutes a significant cost center for all academic libraries -- ours is only a medium-sized institution, and yet I estimate that our practice of routine invoice payment results in the outflow of over $3.5 million per year. That's a lot of online journals (or a handful of Elsevier titles). Obviously, something must be done, and we must be willing act boldly and to take some risks. Will it work? I believe so. For one thing, we already receive numerous magazines to which we have never subscribed and for which we have never paid. Clearly, many magazine publishers are more than happy to provide their product to libraries at no charge, probably because they recognize and celebrate the tremendous social benefits that come from the free distribution of information. For another thing, our experience with the customer service operations of many magazine and journal publishers leads us strongly to suspect that they are so disorganized that it will take years for them to realize that we're not paying our bills. By the time they figure it out, the economy will probably have turned a corner and our budgets will be more able to take the strain of paying for our journal collections. Watch for a major article later this summer. Please direct all questions to me, rather than to the Dean of Libraries, the Nevada Board of Regents or anyone at EBSCO. And again, consider the date on which this announcement is being made. I think all will agree that today is perfect for an announcement such as this. ------------- Rick Anderson Director of Resource Acquisition The University Libraries University of Nevada, Reno "It takes a pretty good 1664 No. Virginia St. meeting to be better Reno, NV 89557 than no meeting at all." PH (775) 784-6500 x273 -- Boyd K. Packer FX (775) 784-1328 rickand@unr.edu