NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS A COMPLAINT SUMMARY THAT WILL APPEAR IN
THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE CRIV SHEET (May 1994). BECAUSE THE
COMPLAINT ORIGINALLY APPEARED AS A LAW-LIB POSTING, THE SUMMARY
IS ALSO BEING POSTED.
LAW-LIB readers may recall that back in February a librarian
posted a notice about Warren Gorham & Lamont's recent practice of
"re-publishing" hardbound monographs as looseleaf post binder
monographs. The librarian noted that despite the new format,
cumulative supplements were still issued. The supplements are
not interfiled, but rather are filed in mass at the back of the
binder. In addition to the format change, the librarian was
worried that the change was instituted to circumvent WG&L's
recent decision to allow customers the option of only
subscribing to the last of a year's cumulative supplements.
As Chair of the CRIV, I contacted the librarian and asked if I
might contact WG&L, on her part, to find out why the hardbound
monographs were being replaced. She agreed and I contact WG&L
President and CEO, Russell White. Below is Mr. White's
explanation:
"Our user research has indicated that customers prefer a single
volume to a book plus a separate supplement. As a result, we are
now publishing some titles in post bound format with a
back-of-the-book cumulative supplement. This new format, with
the cumulative supplement in the back of the book, functions in
exactly the same way as the case bound book with separate
soft-cover supplements. The only difference is that the
supplements are in the same volume as the main text, and are less
likely to be lost. This change in format DOES NOT circumvent the
ability of our customers to purchase only year-end cumulative
supplements. However, having our texts in post binders gives us
the opportunity to replace whole chapters without an expensive
revision and issuance of a new book. We are testing this
concept on a handful of titles."
"WG&L is committed to delivering each of our products in the
format that strikes the best balance among three criteria that
often conflict. These criteria are 1) ease of use, 2) effort by
the customer to update the product, and 3) cost. We welcome any
suggestions regarding the best format of any of our products."
While Mr. White's remarks seemed to satisfy the librarian, she
later learned from the WG&L Customer Service Department that
specific chapters of the title she originally complained about
were about to be replaced. Thus, even if she purchased just the
last cumulative supplement, the only way se could be assured
that the title was up-to-date at year's end was if she also
purchased the reissued chapters. "To my mind," the librarian
pondered, "this is clearly a case of supplementation gone
berserk."
As pointed our by Mr. White, WG&L is testing this format change
on a few selected titles. The CRIV encourages all WG&L customers
to report back to WG&L to let them know how librarians feel (pro
or con) the test is going.
Richard Vaughan
CRIV Chair, 1993/1994
Indiana University School of Law
Internet: RVAUGHAN@INDIANA.EDU
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