Negotiation Resources

At its core, negotiation is a mechanism for establishing and sustaining a business relationship. This is achieved through principled problem solving towards a mutual agreement that both sides find sufficient to meet their specific organizational needs. Developing negotiation skills is not only critical to acquiring digital resources, but to a number of situations that libraries must navigate on a daily basis. 

The resources below range from introductions to general and library-specific principles of negotiation, factors that influence the negotiation process, and case studies to practice applying these principles to potential real-world situations. 

▶️ Harvard Negotiators Explain: How to get what you want every time & How to negotiate with difficult people and win

• These explainer videos are not specific to libraries, but serve as a great summarization of key negotiation principles in the foundational texts of Getting to Yes by Fisher, Patton & Ury and Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations by Ury.

▶️ Negotiation for Librarians: Principles, Process, Proficiencies, ACRL/NEC - 2018

• This webinar provides an overview of the principles for negotiation and the negotiation lifecycle, as well as aspects of gendered communication that may influence negotiation strategies.

▶️ Negotiation and Cost Containment Strategies for Electronic Resources, ALCTS - 2018

• This webinar covers strategies to facilitate cost effective acquisitions, including negotiating favorable terms in complex license agreements, maintaining strong vendor relationships and communicating key information to stakeholders, and monitoring changes in business models and technologies.

▶️ Licensing Electronic Resources for Consortia, ALCTS - 2018

• This webinar explores e-resource licensing from the perspective of the OhioLINK consortium, covering consortial collection development principles, the operationalization of negotiation practices and processes, and how to engage consortial members throughout the process.

🌐 Open Negotiation Education for Academic Libraries (ONEAL) Project

• A project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and hosted through SPARC, ONEAL develops “curricula and open educational resources to support negotiation education for academic libraries and Master of Library Science (MLS/MLIS) programs”. The project offers individuals and groups insights into the theory, practical strategies, and case studies for navigating the complexities of library negotiation. Key resources include:
  • ONEAL Curriculum, the learning modules focused on licensing and negotiation foundations
  • Resource List: ONEAL Community Forum #1, a detailed list of additional resources to support the development of negotiation skills. 

🌐 SPARC Data Analysis for Negotiation

• This suite of resources details how to effectively use data while negotiating with publishers, covering topics such as cost-per-use, overlap analysis, qualitative data, interlibrary loan analyses, and other data points to aid libraries in making evidence-based collection decisions.

📜 Sample Talking Points for E-Book ILL

• Included as a resource in BLC’s E-Book ILL Roadmaps, these sample talking points were adapted from two leaders in library licensing and negotiation: Michael Rodriguez of Lyrasis and Beth Denker of the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries. They provide insights to navigating conversations about e-book interlibrary loan with vendors who are unfamiliar with the practice or reluctant to allow for its inclusion in license agreements by reaffirming interlibrary loan as a fundamental mechanism to aid collection development.