Resource

Introduction to Strategies in Negotiation

This lesson was developed by Scarlet Galvan, University of Chicago

Approximate time to complete: 3-5 hours.

Learning Objectives

After completing this lesson learners will be able to: 

  • Prioritize which negotiations will be most impactful for meeting library and broader organizational goals.
  • Evaluate how library goals and priorities fit within the broader institutional goals in order to create messaging and build influence as the library takes strategic action within negotiations.
  • Employ strategies to understand power dynamics at play when planning strategic negotiations.

Table of Contents

Introduction

It seems clear at this point–I’m writing from Spring of 2025–that the academic library’s usual strategies and tactics, allies and relationships, are all under intense surveillance and attack. To be frank, there is always a low boil happening, but this is no longer a “slow” unmaking of libraries, the kind that we’ve seen in higher education for the last 40 years as part of the project to censor and eliminate information. Rather than release a full strategies module, we’ll introduce strategies and begin working through a few different techniques. Everywhere, our institutions are tasked with managing new priorities and visions, so we want to offer some tools rather than blueprints, to avoid being prescriptive in a moment that demands bravery. 

Our objectives for the first section will be an exploration of those tools, while the second will address engagement techniques for different stakeholders. 

  • Explore a selection of change management and priority setting tools for strategy implementation​
  • Evaluate where broader institutional goals intersect with library strategy​
  • Explore a selection of engagement techniques for other library workers, faculty members, university administrators, office of general counsel, and procurement specialists.

Ultimately, libraries, library workers, content providers, and all the intermediaries between them share a fate. I think it’s possible to re-imagine the library-vendor relationship to be more equitable, to stop confusing business relationships with genuine partnerships that have shared goals, and to use negotiation and strategy for many purposes.

​As part of our commitment to make ONEAL accessible to as many people as possible, all of our primary texts and any resources linked in the curriculum are openly available through a variety of creative commons or other license types. These are all linked in the curriculum document for this module, and are straightforward to find from the search engine of your choice. We might reference or suggest books that aren’t open by default, but the primary texts are. 

The first text is: Managing Licensed E-Resources: Techniques, Tips, and Practical Advice, edited by Galadriel Chilton, available open access through Pacific University Press. ​

The second, where you can find some of the best dissection and techniques around legal jargon and meaning in contracts just came out this year and is also open access through UC Berkeley and the Association of Research Libraries: e-Resource Licensing Explained, by Katie Zimmerman; Rachael Samberg; Samantha Teremy; Sandra Enemil; and Erik Limpitlaw​

​The last is from ACRL, Fostering Change: A Team-Based Guide, by Brianna Marshall, Dani Brecher Cook, and Cinthya Ippolity.​

WATCH, LISTEN, READ

Videos

Readings

Qualitative Data Provides Depth in Resource Evaluation and Negotiation Planning – SPARC

Macy, Katharine V. and Tina Baich. Holistic e-resource analysis to support changing acquisition models. Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference, Austin, TX, March 3-6, 2019.

REVIEW

DO: Putting your learning into practice

The exercises are also found in the Strategies Workbook (docx download, PDF download)

DO: Negotiation Journal Reflection

As part of the Foundations curriculum we introduced the Negotiation Journal. Please refer to the Introduction to the ONEAL Curriculum lesson or the Foundations Workbook (docx download, PDF download) section on Journaling Practice for more information about the utility of keeping a negotiation journal.

Prompt 1: Reflect on your understanding of the organization and the values of the library. Where is there tension? Where is there harmony? How do those experiences play out in how people spend their time and effort at work? Are there opportunities to revise existing practices to focus time and effort? What stakeholders will require convincing for this to happen?  

Prompt 2: Reflect on your own workplace goals and responsibilities in the context of the library and organization’s values. What must you keep doing? What must you stop doing? If you let go of certain tasks, what could you start?

Prompt 3: How could you frame what you see as priorities so they satisfy institutional goals? How would you adjust your messaging for different stakeholders? 

As you approach messaging, it can be useful to consider how each group benefits from your priorities, rather than focusing on compliance or policy. For example “Preprint deposit in the IR is required by the University” is compliance and policy framing. “Open access publications are cited more frequently,” is focused on how the priority benefits those stakeholders.

Helpful Tools & Readings

Group Activities & Discussion

If the curriculum is being completed by a group these activities can help the group learn together. (docx download) (pdf download)

Introduction to Strategies in Negotiation

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