When a legal information professional like me assesses a law firm’s information needs and resources, resulting in big savings, it feels really good. Any organization would be glad to reduce unnecessary spending. That said, my own satisfaction is derived from the process that leads to the decision about which resources to retain or drop, along with the users’ resultant familiarity with the content, tools, and capabilities of the products.

A couple of years ago on this blog, I asked Do We Really Need Three Tax Information Resources? (you could substitute any practice area or topic for the word tax). The answer, then and now, is maybe or maybe not, but you will not know without an assessment of your organization’s needs and available resources. Based on a recent experience, here are my suggestions for a productive process that might lead to savings but will result in deeper and better-informed use of the research platforms for which you contract.

In preparation

• List your questions, concerns, and perceived opportunities.
• Identify products to review, whether currently under contract or potential additions or replacements.
• Gather usage data.
• Know your contract terms and end dates.

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With your organization’s management

• Lay out your mutual goals for a review process.
• Share use statistics and your observations.
• Identify internal decision makers and influencers and the timetable.
• Tag team meetings with vendor representatives as needed.

With your users

• State your purpose and intended outcomes.
• Survey regarding their information needs.
• Invite participation, from attendance at demos to deep dives into product testing.
• Request comments about unmet needs, observations about products, and workflow concerns.
• Inform them of decisions and thank them for input.

With your vendors

• Explain your process and end goals forthrightly.
• Invite their best contributions toward your review process: data, demos, 1:1s.
• Inquire about under-underutilized features and content.
• Focus on your organization’s needs rather than the full suite of content, whistles, and bells.
• Negotiate in good faith, seeking good deals, bundling, terms, and other favorable conditions.
• Launch a customized process for the introduction or reintroduction of the selected products.
• Keep the door open to future product reviews and proposals with unselected vendors.

For further reading

Take a look at the AALL’s Principles & Practices for Licensing Electronic Resources.