Greetings NASIG and other serials colleagues,

Hope you all are safe and well!

Your assistance is needed to determine the role of procurement in contract review at academic libraries.

Please let me know if your library has the authority to review, approve, and sign its own vendor contracts (within approved financial thresholds) or if campus procurement has taken on this role including signatory authority.  Our library can no longer sign vendor price quotes or contract agreements which causes major delays in negotiating and renewing resources.

Backstory: about a year ago campus procurement implemented two new campus-wide requirements for contract review and technology review.  To receive approval and obtain an authorized signature from a procurement official, all vendor contracts/quotes must have Terms updated within the past 5 years AND undergo technology review to assess vendor compliance with accessibility requirements (VPAT, etc). The latter is a worthy goal but together these requirements remove our ability to act in a timely manner or negotiate favorable terms that often need an expeditious turn around.  

To make a case for library autonomy and regain our signatory authority, I seek evidence that academic libraries retain the authority to approve and sign their own contracts (within approved financial thresholds) and to complete their own technology review process.   Please respond to this query (and include the name of your school, if possible):

1. My library has the authority to review, approve, and sign most library vendor quotes, agreements and contracts (within approved financial thresholds). Contracts above a certain dollar amount may require review by a contract specialist/legal counsel.

2. My library does not have the authority to review, approve, and sign library vendor quotes, agreements, contracts. Signatory authority is not held by the library; contracts require external review, approval and signatures. 

3. My library has limited authority to review, approve, and sign vendor quotes, agreements, contracts and can sign only up to a certain dollar amount: please indicate: 50K, 100K, other.
4. Something else, please describe.

Thanks so much for your help!

Take good care and stay safe,

Laura

Laura Gewissler

Director of Collection Management Services

David W. Howe Memorial Library Rm 117

University of Vermont

Burlington, VT  05405

Prefer cell: 908-839-2810

Office line: 802-656-2204