Western European Vendors: A Critical Survey of Their Use by American Academic Libraries

Many North American college and research libraries maintain approval plans with vendors in Western Europe. A survey sponsored by the Western European Specialists Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries was conducted during 1987 to evaluate the use of Western European book vendors, especially approval plan vendors, by North American libraries. The results of that survey are presented in this article. In general, libraries are satisfied with the services these vendors provide. Three critical areas in which approval plan vendors must be judged are; effective assistance in establishing and observing profiles; providing accurate management (financial) reports; and observing spending limits. These issues determine the cost-effcctiveness and efficiency of approval plans as compared with other methods of acquisition. In addition to the results of the survey, a directory of sixty-five Western European book vendors was developed from information provided in the survey and is presented at the end of this article.