Hi Tom,
Well said - I quite agree, in the absence of any news from Swets head office, it's hard to know what is real what is just publishers stirring it up. Of the dozens of publishers who have emailed me over the last two days, all saying roughly the same thing, IM Publications included a link to the actual message Swets sent out to publishers on 22/09:
"Subject: Swets Communication
Dear publishers,
To protect the business interests of Swets & Zeitlinger Group BV, we
have requested the court in Amsterdam to declare a suspension of
payments of Swets & Zeitlinger Group BV and appoint an administrator.
This request was honoured by the court and, last Friday, Mr. J.L.M.
Groenewegen (CMS) was appointed as administrator.
Management will work closely with the administrator, advisors and
relevant business stakeholders in the coming days to investigate
alternatives for the business, including a potential sale of part or
all of the business to other organisations. We expect to be able to
inform you on further developments in the course of this week.
For any queries, please contact Antoinette Baarda by email
([log in to unmask]).
Yours sincerely,
Management Committee of Swets (Han Stoop, Teri Hawksworth, Nadine
Beister, Ramon Schrama, Ted van Dongen)"
Personally, I'm happy to sit tight and wait for an announcement from Swets in the coming days - and that's what I've been telling the publishers who have been phoning and emailing me.
I'd also like to second Claire's sympathy for the Swets staff; the team in Abingdon have been a source of invaluable support since I took up this post three years ago, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work out for them.
Cheers,
Tom F
-----Original Message-----
From: An informal open list set up by UKSG - Connecting the Information Community [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bishop, Tom
Sent: 24 September 2014 16:05
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [lis-e-resources] Publisher messages re Swets
Hi all,
For the sake of understanding more about the situation and the implications, would a publisher's representative on this list be able/willing to relay to us the wording of any correspondence they have received from Swets stating their situation? I'm aware for instance that ALPSP publishers received a message on 22nd September - if someone is willing to share that, or at least the Swets statement, or anything received subsequently, it would be appreciated. Alternatively, have any libraries received direct formal communication from Swets?
The reason I'm asking is that as things stand, the information we have as customers from Swets themselves seems to be minimal. I don't think this should in any way be taken to reflect badly on Swets in Abingdon, as clearly all action relating to sales negotiations and legal proceedings and communications relating to these are being handled centrally from Leiden. My concern is that at present we're primarily receiving and reliant on reported information. We're in a case where we're concerned with a legal situation that necessarily involves Dutch legal terminology and process, which (certainly on my part, not being someone who could choose 'Dutch insolvency law' as my specialist subject on 'Mastermind') potentially increases the opportunities for a lack of full understanding; for instance the article in the Bookseller refers to Swets appointing a 'liquidator' - is that a genuinely accurate translation?
I'm fully aware that this probably sounds naïve, and that picking up on the use/misuse of a single word probably sounds like the worst possible example of pedantry while Rome burns, but it's not intended to be - my point is that to be able to make fully informed, and as Claire says potentially enormous decisions, possibly very quickly, we need to be fully and accurately informed from all sides, and at present I'm not sure we are.
Thank you,
Tom.
-----Original Message-----
From: An informal open list set up by UKSG - Connecting the Information Community [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Judith Stevens
Sent: 24 September 2014 14:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [lis-e-resources] Publisher messages re Swets
Well said Claire. I just had a conversation with Karena from Swets and she was almost in tears, very distraught, I really felt for her - and the others too.
Yes it will be an enormous work load for lots of us. Fortunately I have a great time behind me but am feeling a bit overwhelmed at present, normal renewal time plus this plus an office move plus a tender for a new LMS.
However I will still have job at the end of it.
Thanks for raising this subject, maybe it is a chance for publishers to show they are not all avaricious ******s insert your own expletive.
All best wishes
Judith
On 24 September 2014 14:34, Claire.Grace <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> We have seen a growing number of messages from publishers to this list
> over the last few days, drawing our attention to the announcement from
> Swets. Firstly I would like to say publically how sad I was to see
> this announcement and how much I feel for the staff at Swets.
>
> Secondly, it would be appreciated if publishers would reassure us that
> they understand the enormity of any work we might need to undertake to
> change our current arrangements for subscriptions by providing details
> of how they will grace access to their content as we work through this
> extremely difficult situation.
>
> I have almost invariably seen information about payments but what
> about the access?
>
> Best regards
> Claire Grace
>
> Head of Content and Licensing
> The Open University Library
> Walton Hall
> Milton Keynes
> MK7 6AA
> Tel: +44(0)1908 653291
> Fax: +44(0)1908 652211
>
>
> -- The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391),
> an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in
> Scotland (SC 038302). The Open University is authorised and regulated
> by the Financial Conduct Authority.
>
> lis-e-resources is a UKSG list - http://www.uksg.org UKSG groups also
> available on Facebook and LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter:
> https://twitter.com/UKSG
>
--
Judith Stevens
Library Support Services Manager
The Library
Keele University
Keele
Staffs. ST5 5BG
01782 733637
htttp://www.keele.ac.uk/library
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