Call for Panelists: Negotiating with Vendors

Do you have experience negotiating vendor contracts for your library or district? Do you want to share your experience with other librarians? In a joint sponsored program, the College and Research Division and the Public Library Division are looking for a few savvy negotiators to discuss their experiences working with vendors for their institution.

We are planning a virtual panel session for the end of March that will give some insight to librarians that would like to learn more about the process. We would like to have representatives from a variety of different types of libraries – academic, public, school, or special, as well as a district level negotiator. The panel will include a vendor representative that will give some perspective from the other side of the table. Some questions for discussion:

• How do you prepare for the negotiation?
• What do you consider standard practice?
• What parts of an agreement are vendors most willing to negotiate beyond price (duration, support, payment options, etc.)?
• How do you close the gap between what you want and what is offered?
• What pitfalls have you come across in the process?
• With ever shrinking budgets, do you see vendors being more flexible?
• Do vendors try to impose non-disclosure agreements?
• What advice would you give a first time negotiator?

If you are interested in being a panelist, please send a letter of interest to CRDPALA@gmail.com by February 16th, 2018 and attach your CV. If you have any questions please contact, Betsy Reichart at betsy.reichart@pennfoster.edu.