-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Catchword problems -- John McDonald
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 14:20:23 -0500
From: George Boston <george.boston@WMICH.EDU>

I have to strongly second this view. Several of our electronic
journals were summarily cut off because they were either incorrectly
renewed or the publisher changed their access policies to include a
extra surcharge for online access.

It was just happenstance that either library staff or a patron
noticed that access was cut off. It would be nice if a email
reminder was sent to the contact person.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George Boston
Software and Electronic Resource Specialist
Serial Resources Department
Dwight B. Waldo Library
Western Michigan University
1903 W. Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5353

Telephone: 616-387-5196 / FAX: 616-387-5193
Email: george.boston@wmich.edu

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Catchword problems -- Christopher Waldrop
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 09:11:40 -0800
From: John McDonald <jmcdonald@LIBRARY.CALTECH.EDU>

We often have difficulties with renewals for electronic journals.
My
count
this past year was that 14% of our e-journals were incorrectly
renewed
or
summarily cancelled.  Sometimes it is our subscription agent,
sometimes
it's
our accounting department, but most of the time it's the publisher
or
electronic journal vendor.  All of these problems could have been
corrected
or dealt with prior to de-activating our subscription if we had
only
known.

Vendors and publishers - is it too much to ask that you email the
license
administrator or institutional contact in these cases?  A quick,
even
machine-generated, form letter letting us know that our
subscription
hasn't
been renewed will eliminate most of these problems.

John McDonald
Acquisitions Librarian
California Institute of Technology
Millikan Library 1-32
Pasadena, CA 91125
626-395-6427
626-792-7540 fax
john@library.caltech.edu

--------- Original Message --------
Subject: Catchword problems.
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 08:48:44 -0600
From: Christopher Waldrop <Waldrop@LIBRARY.VANDERBILT.EDU>
Organization: Vanderbilt University

This year (2002) at Vanderbilt University Library we've had three
separate subscription problems with online publications that are
available through Catchword. Two of the titles were renewals, and
the
third was a new subscription. In the case of the renewals, our
access
was cut off without explanation, even though it was confirmed that
the
publisher had received and processed our payment. In the case of
the
new subscription, the publisher's received and processed our
payment, but our subscription hasn't been activated yet.

To make it even more frustration, we pay for all the titles
through
Swets, and, to his credit, our customer service representative has
been
very good about contacting the Catchword support staff. He's had
to
do so repeatedly because even after the support staff tells him
our
access is activated, it hasn't been.

Has anyone else experienced similar problems?

Thanks.

Christopher Waldrop
Serials Coordinator
Vanderbilt University Library
Order Services Department
Tel: 615-343-3831
Fax: 615-343-8834