One of the most common things I heard at MLA this year was, “We’ve had some major cuts to our book budget. Are you hearing this from other libraries too?” The answer is, “Yes.” There are some libraries that have the same budget or have an actual increase, but for the most part, library book budgets have been cut.
Just because you don’t have as much money as you have had in the past doesn’t mean that Matthews won’t work just as hard for you. Here are some suggestions to help you through these tough economic times:
1. Take advantage of our March and November 20% off published titles from our stock publisher lists. If the requests/orders can wait, save them up to take advantage of our specials. You can save your orders on our website bookshelf feature and add to a shopping cart whenever you are ready to order.
2. Set up a deposit account with us. Many times, we can offer higher discounts if you can deposit part or all of you book budget with us. We will send monthly statements so you can keep track of your money.
3. Is all your money going to electronic resources now? If so, buy your ebooks from us. We have a partnership with ebrary and you can buy their perpetual access titles or subscription collections from us.
4. Need help pulling a list together for grant money received? We can help with that too. Tell us what type of books are needed for the grant and we will pull a list together. We can also make sure they are billed separately from your other orders.
5. Have you had to cancel all or many of your standing orders? Just because you can’t have the books shipped automatically anymore does not mean that you cannot receive notification when these titles become available. We can mail slips or send e-mails when new editions or volumes become available for items that you previously received automatically. You can receive slips on some items and books on others. We are flexible.
6. Have you seen an offer from a competitor or publisher that is too good to pass up? Don’t be afraid to ask if we will match it.
7. Matthews is a participating vendor with the WorldCat Cataloging Partner (WCP) program. This service is meant to reduce the cost of cataloging for libraries. WCP will deliver OCLC MARC records that match the titles you order from us and set your holdings in WorldCat. This can save staff time and money.
8. Watch for our MLA specials. This year we ran a special giving 20% off Lippincott Williams & Wilkins titles from May 18th – August 14th. Today is the last day of the special. I hope everyone was able to take advantage of it!
9. Sign up for our library e-mails. This is the best way to stay informed of any specials or news from the library division.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want any additional information on these suggestions, ashleyw@mattmccoy.com or 800-633-2665 x374.
