Margaret,

The faculty is frequently under wrong impressions when it comes to
normal business practices. Usually they hear something second or third
hand, and then jump to the wrong conclusion without knowing full details.

I sympathize with you, but brokers and vendors collect agent fees (or
handling fees) just the same way. They act as third party intermediaries
and should act as your agent in procurement of serials.

The only way to save the handling fee is to simply deal directly with
a publisher for each and every title. This is possible these days if
the proper computer hardware and software is available to you. But more
importantly, you'll need to have the time and staffing to manage such
a huge volume of detailed recordkeeping.

Christopher Anderson
Microcomputer Coordinator
Eccles Health Sciences Library
University of Utah
801 581 5266