Unresponsive information providers

[Ellen Finnie Duranceau <efinnie@MIT.EDU>]

I am wondering if I am alone in having great difficulties recently getting
information providers to respond to licensing questions, keep a
negotiation moving, and complete the process in a timely manner.  For
virtually all of our major purchases in this fiscal year, I have had to
make innumerable phone calls and send innumerable email messages over
weeks and months trying to get responses to our issues and an executable
contract. These phone calls follow explicit written documentation of our
concerns and questions, so that there is a clear paper trail to pick up
and put down. Despite this paper trail and many calls, in most of these
cases I have still not succeeded in concluding a license agreement.

Is anyone else having this experience? Do information providers have some
insight to share about this lack of responsiveness? Do librarians have
ideas about how to get these deals negotiated and completed in a timely
manner?

This problem did not surface for me here at MIT until this year. In
previous years, using similar methods, I was able to get deals closed
readily.

Any comments, confirmations, or alternative experiences would be most
welcome! Ellen Duranceau

**********
Ellen Finnie Duranceau
Digital Resources Acquisitions Librarian
MIT Libraries, Room 14E-210A
Cambridge, MA  02139-4307
efinnie@mit.edu
ph. 617 253 7562
fax 617 253 2464