As soon as I started to read Buying and selling information, I wondered where the information had been all my life and why a similarly comprehensive book for the digital age had not been written sooner. Given that libraries need to buy content to have a collection, overlooking the vendor relationship seems odd in retrospect.
Michael Gruenberg is a salesman. He has sold information products, particularly databases and electronic information in its various guises, to the library sector for more than 30 years. The book addresses both sales and library professionals, giving a balanced perspective of each other's role.
A library professional may find Chapter 12 (Negotiation Skills) worth the price of the book alone. As Gruenberg states on page 139, whilst salespeople are well trained in the art of negotiation, it is the rare librarian who has ever been trained to negotiate during the purchasing process, or at all. Of course, some library professionals have worked for both vendors and libraries and are probably comfortable with the process. Gruenberg emphasises that libraries have more power than they may think. Leverage for libraries is noticeably mentioned throughout: most databases, for example, have three or four competitors, so one vendor could easily be replaced by another. Equally, Gruenberg does not gloss over negotiations going wrong.
Buying and selling information is divided into three parts: The Info Pro-Salesperson Relationship, The Sales Meeting and Closing the Sale. Within these parts, each chapter gives dual perspectives (advice for the information professional and advice for the salesperson), and each chapter closes with a summary of key points. The tone throughout the book is conversational and includes a number of anecdotes that help the information or sales professional to understand and work with each other.
Gruenberg addresses sales cycles and processes, reviewing a contract, how to manage a vendor meeting for both the sales and information professional and trade show attendance, among other topics. As his title implies, knowing more about the two ‘sides’ of sales and libraries can only be mutually beneficial.
One aspect that may not have been fully addressed – not that it is precisely in the remit of the book, although it is definitely related – is the complexity of consortia and big deals, but that is a quibble. Overall Buying and selling information is a delightful book, full of easily understood information. As such, it is highly recommended for academic institutions that teach library studies. And it is also highly recommended for information professionals employed or interested in acquisitions, especially those that deal with electronic resources.