Why Purchase Continuations from YBP, a Book Vendor?

Libraries gain a significant advantage when placing continuations order with YBP. YBP offers a comprehensive range of services for series, sets, annuals, and other books normally sold by publishers on an item-by-item basis, which periodical vendors simply cannot match.

Consider these 11 advantages of using YBP for continuations:

  1. When dealing with periodical vendors, who do not physically handle the continuations volumes shipped directly from publisher to library, the burden of catching and correcting publisher errors and defects rests on the library. This creates a significant amount of work for librarians. (For example, 5-10% of the continuations volumes we receive at YBP do in fact need to be returned to the publisher due to an error on their part.) In contrast, YBP examines and verifies each item received from a publisher, enabling us to intercept and correct publisher errors and defective volumes before we reship to libraries. Physically handling each volume also allows YBP to detect title changes, cessations, and series mergers far more readily than a periodical vendor can.

  2. Libraries' workloads are reduced through YBP's aggregation of continuations volumes in every weekly shipment to the library. If a given week's continuations shipment from YBP includes, for example, 50 volumes, these 50 volumes are packed and invoiced together, with freight paid for by YBP. Through a periodical vendor, however, these 50 volumes may arrive in 50 different packages from individual publishers. In addition, YBP's invoice will accurately record title-specific data such as PO number and fund.

  3. YBP aggregates our orders to each publisher. If YBP has 20 library orders for a given continuations title, the publisher maintains this as one order for 20 copies to a single address, YBP. With a periodical vendor, each library order is placed separately with the publisher, increasing the likelihood of publisher error.

  4. We control duplication across the entire range of library sub-accounts in place with YBP. A library's continuations shipments are checked for duplication, for example, against that library's YBP approval plan shipments. A periodical vendor can't offer this service, since they do not have access to libraries' approval plan information.

  5. YBP can help libraries integrate continuations orders with approval plan coverage. If a library places a continuations title order with YBP, we automatically block that title on the library's approval plan. If that same order were placed with a periodical vendor, in order to prevent potential duplication the library would need to take the extra step of instructing YBP to block that title on approval. YBP can also, upon customer request, set up coverage within an approval plan for many continuations titles.

  6. We can offer special supply cycles for individual titles far more easily than periodical vendors can. Shipping a given annual title every other year, for example, is possible because we bring the book in-house, rather than relying on the publisher to carry out such a special instruction.

  7. Publishers often do not accept standing orders for continuation titles. The vendor, when this is the case, must place volume-by-volume orders, as volumes become available. This work is more easily accomplished by a book vendor such as YBP, than a periodical vendor.

  8. YBP's approval plan operation allows us to constantly uncover new series. As new books flow through our operation, YBP examines them and builds new series records whenever needed. We will even build new series records for titles not truly "series," such as significant new editions. This approval plan workflow allows YBP to continuously expand and strengthen our bibliographic control of the continuations world. Approval plan customers, in addition, always have the option of incorporating instructions for particular series titles into their profiles.

  9. Libraries may explore YBP's technical services options, such as physical processing of continuations volumes, a service that a periodical vendor cannot offer.

  10. YBP typically offers discounts on continuations titles. Periodical vendors usually apply a service fee.

  11. Finally, YBP is also able to offer enhanced service through tight integration with our U.K. division, Lindsay and Croft. YBP can offer duplication control between U.S. and U.K. versions, and can also provide libraries with U.S. or U.K. editions, depending on the customer's requirements. If the U.K. edition of a particular title is published before the U.S. version, for example, customers interested in getting that material as quickly as possible can request the U.K. edition, which YBP is able to promptly deliver through Lindsay and Croft. YBP's close relationship with Lindsay and Croft makes us the premier source for material printed in the U.K.