Both Sides Now: Vendors and Librarians - Managing the Negotiation Process with Library Vendors

摘要

Whenever a discussion takes place describing the process of how information professionals negotiate contracts with salespeople to buy goods and services, I am reminded of the classic Joni Mitchell song, "Both Sides Now." That tune became a big hit for Judy Collins when she sang, "I've looked at life from both sides now, from win and lose, and still somehow it's life's illusions I recall. I really don't know life at all." Of course, Joni's song was not about the way in which vendors and information professionals negotiate terms of a purchase, but it should be common knowledge that in a negotiation, both sides need to have an understanding of what the other side may be thinking about because if both sides lack even a basic perception of what the other is contemplating, proposing, and hopefully accepting, then the final results may not be acceptable to either party.