Abstract
A regional study conducted by 16 libraries sought to develop a vendor evaluation instrument for acquisitions and collection development librarians to establish acceptable ranges of vendor performance in the North Texas area. Criteria studied included fulfillment, turnaround time, discount, shipping charges, number of reports, cancellations by vendors and problems with vendors. One hundred items were ordered by each library between September 18 and October 13 with the study ending on December 15, 1989. Orders were submitted both electronically and by mail to seven domestic vendors. Fulfillment ranged from 56% to 99%; average turnaround time was 42 days for mailed orders versus 36 days for electronically transmitted orders; and average discount was 4.4% for all orders, ranging from 4.2% to 20.3%. Results provided the participants with data against which they could compare their own vendor’s performance.