Approval Plans
Our flexible approval plan services are designed to enrich library collections, helping libraries provide an up-to-date and comprehensive range of books and music scores to their patrons, while saving our customers time and effort.
"UIUC is a large academic research library and here in Acquisitions, we value highly the work accomplished by HARRASSOWITZ in support of our large blanket order plans. HARRASSOWITZ does a terrific job in helping us acquire the best new academic monographs in German as well as covering in depth coverage for music scores. HARRASSOWITZ simply equates to a trusted brand name for excellent service and exceptionally well managed client order tracking. We know they get it right."
Lynn Wiley, Head of Acquisitions and Associate Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Services in more detail
Gold standard service
- We understand the importance of collection development within the library and in support of this, our world-class Approval Plan services help libraries provide an up-to-date and comprehensive range of resources to their patrons.
- HARRASSOWITZ is committed to providing our customers with choice and a flexible service; we offer three distinct Approval Plan services tailored to our customers' needs.
- Any titles that the library has already ordered from HARRASSOWITZ, either through our Standing Order or Firm Order services, are automatically suppressed from Book and Music Scores Approval Plans, New Title Announcements and Virtual Approval Plans.
- Our approval selectors work closely with librarians and publishers resulting in an industry-leading return rate as low as 0.4%.
Books and Music Scores Approval Plans
- Libraries can choose from:
- Our
Book Approval Plan covering new publications from Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries. - Our
Contemporary German Belles Lettres Approval Plan featuring contemporary authors writing in the German language and available in a choice of three HARRASSOWITZ lists of contemporary authors: a comprehensive list, a selective list, and a core list, each of which is updated continuously. Libraries may also wish to create their own list of authors to service their collection of contemporary German literature. - Our
Music Scores Approval Plan covering music scores only (books about music are included in the Book Approval Plan).
- Our
- Our library customers create detailed profiles of their requirements and our teams of expert selectors work with these to select books to be sent automatically to the library.
- We also provide a convenient checklist to our library customers enabling them to create approval plan profiles with confidence and ease. Libraries may add additional customized refinements to their approval plan instructions.
- For book approval plans, profiles are based on subject area plus a range of additional criteria such as language, geographical coverage, publisher, format, and price.
- For music scores approval plans, profiles are based on instrumentation plus a range of additional criteria such as composer, geographical coverage, etc.
- HARRASSOWITZ monitors expenditure, either by fund or by total annual allocation, and keeps customers appraised of their account status at all times.
- We supply a suite of management reports, delivered in Excel format, summarizing library expenditures for books (and/or music scores) based on invoice dates.
- In addition, we offer shelf-ready services saving our customers considerable time and effort.
- HARRASSOWITZ can recommend trusted, high-quality industry partners who supply full cataloging services. If the library has already committed to another cataloging service, HARRASSOWITZ will coordinate shipping arrangements.
- E-preferred approval plan programs for books are also available.
New Title Announcements
- Customers generate similar profiles to those described above. Instead of sending physical items however, HARRASSOWITZ sends announcements by email which the library can then review and select from. The resulting orders are considered firm.
- Each emailed New Title Announcement contains a link to the bibliographic record in Fokus, the HARRASSOWITZ system for aquisition and management of scholarly resources. From the Fokus record, it is easy to order a title or mark it for later ordering.
- Alternatively, selectors can review New Title Announcements by navigating to their NTA folder in Fokus.
Virtual Approval Plans
- This plan is ideal for new customers who wish to gain experience of our approval services before committing to receiving books via our Book or Music Scores Approval Plan services.
- Virtual Approval Plans differ from a New Title Announcement Plan in that titles are selected on a title-by-title basis by our experienced team of selectors (rather than automatically in accordance with a profile).
- Virtual Approval Plans may be set up temporarily when a library needs to suspend its regular Approval Plan for a short time. During this period the library receives its approval plan selections as New Title Announcements rather than as physical items.
At your service
Our Approval Plan staff undergo extensive training before taking on full selecting responsibilities and our customers benefit from their in-depth knowledge and experience of:
- their subject fields
- relevant publishers and imprints
- library collections and collection requirements
- subject assignment according to LC based HARRASSOWITZ subjects
- managing multidisciplinary titles (identifying primary and secondary subjects)
- selecting for special and for general collections
- identifying scholarly and popular or esoteric titles
- preferences for binding, media and language etc.
Our staff as a whole speak a total of 20 languages and all are fluent in English, communicating whenever possible in the publisher's and customer's native language.
Return Policy for Books and Music Scores
Return Policy
- This plan is ideal for new customers who wish to gain experience of our approval services before committing to receiving books via our Book or Music Scores Approval Plan services.