I met Alfred Jaeger over 20 years and was very impressed with the kindness
that he and his late wife showed me.  They were top notch folks who treated
you like a member of the family.  Nothing that is happening at the company
today will ever tarnish my wonderful memory of the Jaegers.

While no longer responsible for print periodicals, I have had concerns that
the back issue business is not what is once was.  I have been quite
impressed at how well Glenn and Absolute Backorder Service have been doing
in the new electronic world.  My library has been using Absolute since its
early days and has been a very satisfied customer.

Our business with Alfred Jaeger Inc. had significantly diminished for
various reasons, all business related.  I am hard pressed to believe that
Don would deliberately defraud customers.  He was a great believer in NASIG
and its ideal of an equal partnership in the serials information chain.  I
am relieved to learn that he is physically ok.

For those of you with long memories, remember what happened to USBE?

As Lee Ann notes, this is a sad situation all around.  It is always
difficult to see a long-time respected vendor hit hard times and disappear.

Susan

Susan Davis
Head, Electronic Periodicals Management Department
University at Buffalo (SUNY)
134 Lockwood Library
Buffalo, NY  14260-2210
(716) 645-2784
(716) 645-5955 fax
unlsdb@buffalo.edu

The opinions expressed in this message are my own and do not necessarily
represent those of my institution.

--On Friday, December 02, 2005 11:21 AM -0500 Bob Persing
<persing@POBOX.UPENN.EDU> wrote:

> [Moderator's note: the SERIALST moderators have tried to contact Don
> Jaeger, but with no success as yet.  The memo below from Glenn Jaeger has
> been edited slightly to conform to our list requirements.]
>
>
> *Subject:* Problems with the Alfred Jaeger, Inc. company *
> Date:* Thu, 1 Dec 2005 18:15:57*
> **From:* "Howlett, Lee Ann" <lhowlett@hsc.usf.edu> *
> To:* <SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU> **
>
> Dear Moderater: I have noticed that there have been a number of Serials
> Librarians who have been having problems communicating with the comapny,
> Alfred Jaeger, Inc., of Commack, New York, concerning credits and orders.
>
> I have been in contact with Mr. Glenn Jaeger, the owner of Absolute
> Backorder Service, Inc. in Wrentham, Mass. Apparently, he's been having
> difficulties due to the fact that many librarians believe his company is
> affiliated with Alfred Jaeger, Inc., which is run by Glenn Jaeger's
> brother, Donald Jaeger. In fact, the companies are not connected in any
> shape or form. Glenn Jaeger has also had little to no contact with his
> brother, Donald Jaeger, (despite many attempts) about the status of
> Alfred Jaeger, Inc.
>
> I have known both men for many years but most of my dealings in the past
> few years have been with Glenn Jaeger and his company, Absolute
> Backorder. I can vouch for Glenn Jaeger's honesty and integrity. It's
> very sad that the company founded by his father, Mr. Alfred Jaeger, so
> many years ago, is now treating it's customers in this fashion. Besides
> the damage this is causing Glenn Jaeger's company, he is also upset
> regarding the damage to his late father's reputation.
>
> Glenn Jaeger has been trying to find a way to communicate this
> information (the difference between the 2 companies) to as many
> librarians as possible. I suggested that if his memo were posted to the
> Serialist, along with a few other listservs, it might help alleviate some
> of the confusion.
>
> I am including Glenn Jaeger's memo below for posting on Serialist.
>
> Respectfully submitted,
> Lee Ann Howlett
>
> __________________________________
> Lee Ann Howlett, MA
> Head, Serials Dept.
> Shimberg Health Sciences Library
> University of South Florida
> 12901Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 31
> Tampa, FL 33612
> (813) 974-9080
> (813) 974-7032 (fax)
> email: LHOWLETT@HSC.USF.EDU
>
>  ************************************************************************
> ***** Memo from Mr. Glenn Jaeger, Absolute Backorder Service, Inc.
>
> Over the past several weeks, I have been contacted by several librarians
> asking about my company's (Absolute Backorder Service, Inc.) affiliation
> with Alfred Jaeger, Inc., or if I had a means for contacting them. Please
> allow me to share excerpts from a response I've recently sent to a
> library where they were concerned about Absolute's viability.
>
> "Thank you for writing with your concerns. Please let me clarify a few
> points, which I hope you will share with your colleagues. Absolute
> Backorder Service, Inc. located in Wrentham MA is owned and operated by
> (myself) Glenn Jaeger. Alfred Jaeger, Inc. located in Commack, NY is
> owned and operated by Donald Jaeger. There is no affiliation between the
> two organizations other than the proprietors of each are sons of the late
> Alfred Jaeger.
>
> My company, Absolute Backorder Service, is indeed operational to service
> all your back volume needs.
>
> I have received several calls from libraries asking about Alfred Jaeger,
> Inc. They say their phone calls have gone unanswered, their emails have
> bounced and the Jaeger website is down.
>
> *************************************************************************
> ***
>
> My attempts to contact my brother (Don Jaeger-President & CEO) have gone
> unanswered, yet I have been able to confirm he is physically well through
> a third party. Several calls were of the mindset that something must have
> happened for everything to close down without an official announcement to
> the industry. My goal here is twofold:
>
> 1) Confirm to the industry that Absolute is a viable organization to
> conduct business with.
>
> and more importantly:
>
> 2) Confirm to the industry that the lack of communication from Donald
> should in no way reflect upon our late founding father. Alfred Jaeger
> developed an organization that was considered "the vanguard of the
> industry"."
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Glenn Jaeger-President
> Absolute Backorder Service, Inc.
> 475 Washington Street
> Wrentham, MA 02093
> (508) 384-0122-phone
> (508) 384-0097-fax
> www.absolute-inc.com
>
>