Re: Extended approval plan interface and ABC

["Zahavi, Naomi" <nzahavi@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Gwen,

We had an approval plan for many years with ABC and wanted to implement 
PromptCat for the books received on approval.  The first thing we had to do 
was fine-tune our approval plan profile so that we were returning very few 
books to ABC as unwanted.  Since the PromptCat books would arrive labeled 
and shelf-ready, we had to be willing to keep and pay for any books 
received on the plan.  It took at least a year for us to get the profile 
tuned to that point -- but we have a generous materials budget and don't 
mind too much keeping an occasional book that we might not have ordered 
ourselves.  In anticipation of the PromptCat project, we purchased III's 
extended approval plan interface.  Now we receive shelf-ready books from 
ABC -- our approval plan has really become a blanket order -- and we bring 
ABC's PromptCat records into the system through the extended approval plan, 
creating bib, order, and item records.  Invoices are automatically 
generated and approved.  As a cataloger, I understand the benefits on our 
side of the equation better than the acquisitions side.  But I know that 
acquisitions staff used to key brief records for all the approval books, 
and print out record numbers for the catalogers, and go through a far more 
tedious payment process.  Now it all happens online quickly, and the books 
go to the shelf after a brief review in acquisitions.  We do limit our 
PromptCat to books with LC copy, so quite a few fall out of the process and 
come to cataloging -- but even those get mini PromptCat records, and the 
order and item are done.   We have an identical setup with Midwest Library 
Service, and this summer we plan to extend the program to our firm orders 
with both vendors.

It's been a big success for us, but our project is slightly different from 
yours.  I hope you get some on target responses!

All the best,

Naomi

Naomi Zahavi
Head Cataloging Librarian
Loyola Marymount University Library     phone: (310)338-7685
One LMU Drive, MS 8200                     fax: (310)338-4366
Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659               email: nzahavi@xxxxxxxxxx

At 07:52 AM 5/15/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi - I am trying to justify purchase of the extended approval plan
>interface to use with an Academic Book Center approval plan.  We will just
>be starting this approval plan and haven't had one in the past, so we
>probably aren't fully aware of all the complications yet.  In order to
>justify buying the EAP from III, I would like to hear from some libraries
>who use it with ABC and how it helps with the whole process.  It would be
>especially helpful if you did the approval plan without it at some point
>and could contrast the two processes, but anything would help.
>
>Thanks, Gwen
>********************************************
>Gwen M. Gregory, Head of Bibliographic Services
>Tutt Library, Colorado College
>1021 N. Cascade Ave
>Colorado Springs, CO  80903-3525
>(719) 389-6661 | Email ggregory@xxxxxxxxxx
>
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