In response to the overwhelming interest in our first ACRL/SPARC Negotiation 101 Workshop earlier this year, SPARC will host a series of programs over this summer to better support libraries and library workers in building their skills for negotiation with vendors.
In this work, we’re excited to collaborate with Katharine Macy (Collection Assessment Librarian and Subject Liaison to Business & Economics at IUPUI’s University Library) who is passionate about improving libraries’ negotiation abilities. She serves as the co-lead of both our ACRL/SPARC Negotiations 101 Workshops as well as the Data Analysis Working Group within SPARC’s Negotiation Community of Practice. Katharine will be leading a variety of programs over the coming months to better support libraries in this area.
Here’s what we have in store!
SPARC Negotiation Office Hours
Held from 3-5pm EDT on the dates below, these office hours are open for anyone from a SPARC member institution to drop in to ask a question, get feedback on strategy, or debrief about how a recent negotiation went. Just register at the link below and join us with your question or area for feedback!
June 30th [register]
July 14th [register]
July 28th [register]
August 11th [register]
August 18th [register]
ACRL/SPARC Negotiation 201 Series
We’re excited to continue our collaboration with ACRL on this Negotiation 201 Series that will provide one-hour deeper dives into specific aspects of negotiating strategy and how they can be put to use. Each of these webcasts is free and open to library workers at any institution, but registration is required for each.
Zone of Possible Agreement: Researching & Predicting Publishers’ Positions
Date: July 13 from 3-4p EDT
Register here
The Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA) is where price agreement can happen during a negotiation. This range is between the minimum the seller is willing to sell and the maximum a buyer is willing to pay. When planning negotiation strategy, predicting your ZOPA can be critical to ensure the best agreement can be reached. While it is easier for libraries to determine your maximum price, estimating an e-resource vendor’s minimum price may feel daunting. This workshop will help provide resources and strategies for trying to determine your ZOPA including strategies such as analyzing historical price increases for your own library, researching pricing at other institutions, and using available market research and competitive intelligence resources to understand drivers for vendor decisions.
Determining BATNA: Analyzing the Value of Packages & A La Carte Purchasing
Date: July 29 from 3-4p EDT
Register here
BATNA refers to your best alternative to negotiated agreement. It allows you to understand both your walk away point within a deal as well as your alternatives. This workshop will provide strategies and resources for analyzing your journal packages to determine BATNA, discussing how to analyze small packages in Excel using different analysis techniques to determine value. We will also discuss using tools such as Unsub to analyze large big deals.
Preparing for No: Understanding Your BATNA, Priorities, and Values
Date: August 19 from 3-4p EDT
Register here
What happens when you hear “no” during a negotiation? How should you consider reacting? This workshop will consist of a moderated discussion between panelists who will share their own experiences with handling no during a negotiation, allowing time for questions and discussion from the audience.
We hope these programs over the summer will help provide a boost on the basics of negotiating, and feel free to share these events with colleagues at your library or at other institutions!