I have received requests to summarize responses to my query
seeking Dawson company information on 9/9/94 on LIBADMIN and
SERIALST.  The Dawson co. previously bought McGregors, and
is now buying Faxon.  I am not subscribed to the SERIALST.

My personal thanks to all who responded.

1. Marquette University has used Dawson for a number of years and
has been quite pleased with the level of service they provide.

2. Response from a public library:  They found Dawson as
responsive and efficient as McGregor.  One negative was that
they want you to have a "common expiration date", e.g. Jan. 1.
They are a reputable company and their pricing structure is open
and honest.  Not sure what the current discount is (since current
location uses Ebsco), but it used to be 9%.

3. University of Northern Iowa library (13,000+ students, $1.1 M
library materials budget) has used Dawson as their major
periodicals vendor for decades.  They have been happy with their
service.

4. Columbia College was originally with McGregor and stayed when
purchased by Dawson.  On a scale of 1 to 10, person would rate
Dawson a 7 or 8.  Dawson's standardized claim forms are useful.
Information is transmitted effectively, whether by paper or
telephone.  The Dawson staff are friendly and cooperative.

5. Response from a small Army Post Library:  they have been using
Dawson for 5 years with no complaints.  Found them pleasant to
deal with and they promptly answered questions and replaced the
few issues that did not arrive.

6. One response suggested contacting someone at Canadian
libraries.

7. Response from Purdue University Calumet:  over the years they
split about evenly between Faxon and Dawson (about $220,000).
(They began with McGregor.)  About 18 mo. ago, they moved their
entire list to Dawson with a guarantee of three-years with low
service fees.  Said Dawson's service has always been great; they
are responsive to questions and requests.  They have an Internet
system on which you can place claims and orders, correspond with
your rep, and check their title list for price and other
information.  The worst part of the switch was dealing with
Faxon.  There were many cases in which Faxon had never paid the
publisher (although "WE" had paid Faxon), or had made only
partial payment.  Wholeheartedly recommends Dawson.

8. Response from Illinois State University:  They have dealt with
Dawson (Folkstone, England) for a number of years.  They
originally set up an account for "standing orders", and have been
reasonably satisfied with service; but not as good as Blackwell.
The biggest nuisance has been trying to force annuals and other
standing order-type items into the subscription mode.  Have had
no experience with the Dawson ownership of McGregor.  Cannot see
how Dawson can do anything in the short run, except maintain the
existing Faxon operational processes.  Dawson-McGregor may be too
small to absorb Faxon.  Per Faxon executive, Dawson MaGregor
would be merged into Faxon, not vice-versa.

9. Response from State University of NY at Buffalo:  They have
been quite satisfied with Dawson US service.  Their account is
approximately 1200 titles, $338,000.  They do not use any of
their online services at this time.  Dawson has participated in
SISAC and NASIG.  Weren't as happy with Dawson UK.  Would
describe them as a growing co. with a small-town service/work
ethic.  They really care about doing well for you.  They like
having more than one vendor, and, at least for the short term,
Faxon and Dawson will be distinct.

10. UCSD was originally a McGregor customer.  They became a
Dawson customer in the mid 80's when they acquired McGregor.
With the Dawson acquisition they saw more automated products
and services, although fewer than from Ebsco or Faxon.  Since
they have their own Innopac system, they did not miss the extra
management reports offered by those companies.  Dawson is
concerned about their satisfaction and work hard to resolve any
problems.  Dawson has been a player in the X12 and SISAC
developments and are one of the few serials vendors who have
actually done a successful X12 implementation with a client in
Minnesota.  They were also one of the first vendors to offer
dispatch data on their online system.

11. Wahlert Memorial Library at Loras College has been using
Dawson (formerly McGregor) for a number of years.  They are
pleased with the service and the customer service people are the
best they've dealt with.  The Dawson customer service rep. has
called their attention to subscriptions with a large price
increase.  When Dawson announced they were buying Faxon, they not
only got a letter, but also a call from the regional manager.
Faxon has never called.  They've been transferring most of their
direct subscriptions and ALL of the problem subscriptions to
Dawson.  They did have some problems with Dawson U.K.  Service
was poor and some billing problems.  Have since transferred
those subscriptions to Dawson U.S.

Mary Alice Lanning, Reference Services Librarian
Bracken Library, Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306
01malanning@bsuvc.bsu.edu