ABSTRACT
Nancy Rogers, General Manager of EBSCO Subscription Services, opened the workshop with an introductory statement noting that the issue of bidding for periodical subscription service has been with libraries for some time. It was the modus operandi before World War II but later fell into disfavor. Librarians generally believe that bidding hampers the freedom and efficiency of the acquisitions process. The bidding process is labor-intensive because of the difficulty of writing good bid specifications. It is also troublesome because of the concern about disruption of service and the difficulty of documenting value added by agents who emphasize service and good business practices. Many librarians question if there are any benefits, because the general consensus is that the costs saved by procuring the lowest bidder are lost by costs incurred in the bidding process.
