Soon after we sent out Y2K renewal invoices, we updated the major agents
with publication information on the latest issues going to, or coming off,
press.  We are preparing to send another update by end of this month.
Thanks,

Chris Schneider
<christopher.schneider@na.gbhap.com>
http://www.gbhap.com
IPD / The Gordon and Breach Publishing Group

> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Lucas [SMTP:jlucas@ROWLAND.UMSMED.EDU]
> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 1999 5:58 PM
> Subject:      Re: Subscription renewals
>
> I have been dealing with serials in some respect for most of my 23 years.
> With good subscription agents We use Faxon, Ebsco, Blackwell, and some
> Matthews (some continuation type).  I rely on them to get the payments to
> the publishers in time for the next year, even though we pay the agents in
> July, at the beginning of our fiscal year.
>
> I believe that most of the generated renewals come from the advertising/
> public relations dept. which gets the list of all the 1999 subscribers.
> Many are 1 or 2 mailings for a particular title and all they list is your
> address.  Those publishers which have the ability to link their databases
> between (ie) subscription/mailing dept. with the Advertising /sales area
> tend to have more information on the mailing like the Subscription Agency,
> whether it is 1st,2nd,3rd reminder.
>
> I have found that on publisher, (Gordon & Breach/ Harwood) had been
> sending us the same type of reminder for renewal BUT THEY DID NOT inform
> the subscription agents.  (I BELIEVE THAT they have changed this.) I would
> look at them and toss them thinking the subscription agent had been
> notified but after repeated claims with no response, eventually discovered
> the agent was waiting for notification of the publication of the volumes
> so they could place the order be billed and bill us.
>
> (I COULD BE WRONG ON THE ABOVE INFORMATION BUT THAT IS WHAT I PERCIEVED
> THE PROBLEM TO BE)  As I said, I believe this has been corrected.
>
> I DO FIND ONE GOOD THING NOW ABOUT THESE MAILINGS.  With more publishers
> offering all or some of their titles with full text as part of the
> institutional subscription, I am finding these mailings sometimes announce
> this.  If nothing else, they often have some sort of publisher URL address
> which I can go to, bookmark, and check to see if any of the titles we
> subscribe to have the 'free'? online access.
>
> John Lucas
> Serials Librarian
> University of Mississippi Medical Center
> 2500 North State St
> Jackson, MS 39216-4505
>
> (PH) (601) 984-1277
> (FAX)  ( 601) 984-1262
> <jlucas@ROWLAND.UMSMED.EDU>