ALA periodicals (Jeanette Skwor) Marcia Tuttle 19 Apr 2001 00:01 UTC
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 14:06:43 -0500 From: "Skwor, Jeanette" <skworj@UWGB.EDU> Subject: ALA periodicals I am having a devil of a time and turning to my most valuable resource - Serialist-ers - for help. Does anyone else find the ALA as difficult to deal with regarding subscriptions? At the moment, I am dealing with three problem titles, and finding my respondants at the ALA lackadaisical at best. The one that drives me to you is a lapsed subscription. In changing library databases, some things fell through the cracks and one of them was our subscription to _Library Administration & Management_. We had a direct order, did not receive a renewal and in January, a claim was triggered for the last issue. I sent out the claim, adding a note stating I thought we had missed a renewal and if so, would they please invoice us. No response. On March 7th, I accessed the web site & called them. "Oh, that address (the one I had sent the claim to) is no longer good. That department doesn't handle renewals any more." Well, I would have thought they might have forwarded it to the correct department, but then, what do I know? And anyway, fine, let's not look back; let's get on with it - can you invoice me, then? "Sure." So I gave her the info and waited. Two weeks later I called again. "Oh, it's much too early; it takes 4-6 weeks to generate an invoice." (!) "However, if you're really in a hurry, I'll type one up and fax it to you. The only thing is, you'll still get the other one, so you'll end up with two." Two is better than none, so I thanked her kindly and took her up on the offer. And wasn't shocked when the faxed version did not appear, just settled in for the wait. Now six weeks have gone by. I have nothing. I can print off an order form from the web site and send it in, but frankly, I'm more than a little afraid to do that without talking to someone first to make sure the information given is correct, and that it will be honored. The other thing is, we have two other ALA subscriptions we are not receiving - one a new one ordered last July, and, I recently learned, assigned to an education professor (who didn't get any of her own issues until we claimed ours); the other a long-standing semi-monthly subs that we haven't received since Feb. 1st. After multiple claims and no response, I called and learned the subscription was entered, by them, as a Feb - Feb period, and no argument from me would change things. In fact, as I went to investigate back issues, I saw labelling had changed in November, and included a February renewal date (which the ALA rep explained to me as a change from a fullfillment house, and that things received from them were "a mess".) We've always had that as a June - May subs period and so I ended up dumping that back in my vendor's lap. And perhaps I should turn to said vendor more, but it seems in convoluted cases like this, it's difficult enough to straighten it out with direct communication; having a third party interpreting between us just muddies the waters, and of course, they don't know from day to day what I am receiving. And so I'm stymied. Advice, please, good people . . . Jeanette Skwor Cofrin Library Serials Dept. University of WI-Green Bay Phone: (920) 465-2670 Fax: (920) 465-2783