Negotiation Skills for Librarians
An online course building knowledge, skills and confidence
in e-resource negotiation
from Lead From Within
Course purpose
A six-week online course developing knowledge, skills and confidence to support librarians when negotiating with publishers and other vendors for electronic resources.
The course is highly practical, delivering skills and knowledge which academic librarians and consortia members can apply immediately to on-going and future negotiations, both new deals and renewals.
Context
Electronic resources continue to bring major change to the provision of teaching and research information, hugely impacting the role and responsibilities of information professionals.
The rise of the license, the demise of the ‘list price’, tailored deals, new rights and
responsibilities, new users, and new ways of delivering, using and sharing information are all part of the evolving complexity of information provision.
At the same time, in this fast-changing environment, some things have not changed: publishers still seek to maximise usage, market penetration and income, whilst libraries and consortia seek to best serve their users within the constraints of rising costs and pressured budgets.
In order to navigate these challenges - and make the most of the considerable opportunities - negotiation has become a fundamental part of the content acquisition process.
It follows that libraries and consortia need library staff with strong negotiation knowledge and skills, and yet training in this area continues to be neglected by most LIS degrees.
This course has been created to fill this gap, informing and empowering librarians, growing their confidence and skills, and enabling them to gain the best from every negotiation.
A brief history
This course is based on the highly successful 1-day in-person workshop which I’ve delivered since
2008 to library and consortia staff in the UK and Eire1, continental Europe and the Middle East.
Of the 330+ librarians who have participated in the in-person workshop to date, 100% would recommend it to colleagues and the vast majority rated their learning experience as ‘excellent’.
1On behalf of UKSG
The in-person workshop evolves continually setting leading edge negotiation knowledge and skills in the context of the latest developments in e-resource acquisition.
The online course has been developed to meet demand from international colleagues who cannot attend the in-person workshop.
It draws on the same high quality workshop materials, adapted for an online learning
environment and delivers the same high quality learning experience, knowledge, skills and tools. Is the course for you?
Negotiation Skills for Librarians online has been written for serials and acquisitions librarians involved in the acquisition of electronic resources in academic institutions or on behalf of academic consortia2.
Written at an introductory-intermediate level, the course is for librarians and consortia members who:
are new to negotiations;
have some negotiations experience and are seeking a ‘refresher’ and/or additional tips, skills and knowledge;
are being trained to undertake purchasing roles in the future3.
The course focuses on journals and other serially published content (although much of the learning is transferable to eBook and database acquisition).
Learning objectives
You will:
Learn proven, highly practical negotiations skills and knowledge which you can use immediately in your professional life
Learn The Four Cornerstones – four key strategies which underpin all successful negotiations Discuss and practice the Seven Habits of Effective Negotiations – intelligent negotiation
tactics which will help you get the best deal possible, on pricing and on terms
Apply these skills and knowledge, plus your own wisdom and experience, to resolve realistic negotiation situations
Share your negotiation concerns and challenges in a confidential and supportive environment
Build your confidence in relation to publisher negotiations
Learn a powerful model for developing your personal resilience, a capacity proven to enhance negotiation abilities and outcomes (optional 7th session)
2The course will also benefit information/knowledge workers based in corporations (although please note, the primary
focus is on e-resources acquisition in an academic institution/consortia environment).
3More experienced negotiators are welcome as their experience will benefit the group but I wish to be clear that the
How we will learn
This course takes place over six weeks with weekly live webinars deliver key learning and knowledge.
The live sessions also feature group discussion, individual coaching and sharing of ideas. Structured weekly homework exercises have been designed to deepen participants’
learning.
Participants can also share homework and discuss negotiation-related issues in the private learning environment Ruzuku.
Optional weekly buddying sessions enable participants to explore what they’ve learned further and practise key skills.
There will be opportunities for participants to raise their own negotiation issues throughout the course.
Participants will also be given practical course materials designed to support them in their workplace.
An optional free 7th session on Building Personal Resilience helps your personal resilience, a capacity proven to enhance negotiation abilities and outcomes.
The pilot course will be limited to 15 places so that delegates benefit from being able to interact with one another and with the facilitator.
Course content
Week 1: Introduction & Overview
Course overview and learning goals Negotiation basics
The context for vendor negotiation Common negotiation challenges Three main negotiation styles
Week 1 Homework – What’s your perspective? Week 2: Negotiation Strategy: The Four Cornerstones
Introduce four cornerstones - key strategies which will underpin all of your negotiations Explore how each cornerstone contributes to the success of negotiations
Reflect on the extent to which you already work with these cornerstones
Consider how you can incorporate these strategies further into your negotiation process Week 2: Homework: Integrating the four cornerstones
Week 3: Negotiation Tactics: The Seven Habits of Effective Negotiations (Part 1) Explore three key tactics you need to employ for effective negotiations Explore how each will support you in negotiations
Determine what you will do more (or less) of to embed each of these tactics into your negotiation process
Week 4: Negotiation Tactics: The Seven Habits of Effective Negotiations (Part 2)
Share four further important tactics you need to employ for effective negotiations Explore how each will support you in negotiations
Determine what you will do more (or less) of to embed each of these tactics into your negotiation process
Consider the impact on negotiations of not deploying the Seven Habits Week 4: Homework: Integrating tactics 4-7
Week 5: Principles into Practice
There is no webinar in Week 5; instead you will take the Principles into Practice Challenge Participants will work in pairs applying knowledge and skills from the course to a series of
mini negotiation scenarios, reporting findings in the private learning online environment Week 5 Homework: Principles into Practice Challenge
Week 6: Bringing It All Together
Discuss responses to the Principles Into Practice Challenge
Address any outstanding questions, concerns and issues with the emphasis on finding practical solutions and determining next steps.
Review of the course Your key learning points Course feedback
Week 7: Bonus Webinar: Building Resilience for Confident Negotiations (Optional)
We will:
Define resilience and explore how this vital quality can support you in negotiations Explore a leading model which builds personal resilience
Explore how this model can be applied to enhance your confidence and resourcefulness in relation to publisher negotiations
Week 7 Homework: Practising your ABC
Impact
Participants from the in-person workshop on which this online course is based report many practical benefits including:
immediately saving money4
greater confidence when dealing with vendors
achieving more affordable, sustainable agreements
securing better license terms
greater understanding of which areas can - and should - be negotiated
stronger sense of the areas they want to influence
greater confidence about the negotiation process as whole
serving teaching and research more effectively
enhancing the value and impact of the library
4 For example, colleagues at a library in Eire reported a saving of €5,000 on a single deal within two weeks of taking this
course. Whilst such results cannot be guaranteed, I am confident that the course builds the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary for negotiating more equitable and sustainable deals.
Feedback
Here are just some of the many positive comments the in-person Negotiation Skills for Librarians
workshop has attracted in recent years:
“This has been a really useful course with a good mixture of content. The background in
terms of Mindset and Resilience was really useful and was built upon with practical
negotiating tools…the Checklist is a valuable practical tool which I am sure I will use over and
over again. As a new member of staff particularly, the course has been excellent.”
Librarian, June 2014
“I have used the learning from the day when speaking to publishers on the telephone and
have found that I have a great deal more confidence and am able to assert myself better.”
Resources Manager (Serials, e-Resources and Digital Access), June 2015
“Very approachable, friendly, clear and concise delivery. Good course which was paced with
good variety of content. I enjoyed it very much and learnt a lot. Thank you.”
Acquisitions Librarian, May 2015
“Lots of invaluable handouts. Good mix of presentation and practical. Nice informal style,
felt very engaged with all content.”Serials Librarian, June 2014
“Every librarian involved in purchasing/licensing should do this course!”
Special Collections Librarian, June 2013
“Excellent – I’m actually looking forward to my next negotiation (-ish!).”
Librarian, June 2013
“Thank you so much for one of the most informative, practical and useful courses I have
attended.” Serials Librarian, June 2013
Course Dates for Autumn 2015-Winter 2016: Australia (Canberra Time Zone)
2015 Pilot Course 2016 Winter Course
(Tuesday webinar option)
2016 Winter Course (Wednesday webinar option)
Week 1 – Wednesday October 14th Week 1 – Tuesday January 12th Week 1 – Wednesday January 13th
Week 2 – Wednesday October 21st Week 2 – Tuesday January 19th Week 2 – Wednesday January 20th
Week 3 – Wednesday October 28th Week 3 – Tuesday January 26th Week 3 – Wednesday January 27th
Week 4 – Wednesday November 4th Week 4 – Tuesday February 2nd Week 4 – Wednesday February 3rd
Week 5 – Wednesday November 11th (practical session; no webinar this week)
Week 5 – Tuesday February 9th (practical session; no webinar this week)
Week 5 – Wednesday February 10th (practical session; no webinar this week)
Week 6 – Wednesday November 18th Week 6 – Tuesday February 16th Week 6 – Wednesday February 17th
Week 7 – Friday November 20th (optional bonus session)
Week 7 – Friday February 19th (optional bonus session)
Week 7 – Friday February 19th (optional bonus session)
Pricing and registration
A Pilot of the online course will take place October 14th-November 20th 2015 at 8pm (AEST)5.
This Pilot will be open to Australian librarians and will feature a special price of £300 – a saving of £95 over the normal full price.
Places for the Pilot Course are limited to 10 participants only and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
There are two further opportunities for colleagues based in Australia to take the course: 1. Option 1 with group webinars on Tuesdays at 5pm (AEST)5
January 12th – February 19th 2016
2. Option 2 with group webinars on Wednesdays at 8pm (AEST) 5
January 13th – February 19th 2016
Please note that the price for both of the courses starting in January will be £395.
To register for the Pilot Course or for either of the Winter Courses please go to:
http://www.sarahdurrant.co.uk/negotiation-skills-online-registration
If you have any questions about anything in this document, please contact me at:
Course leader
I began teaching negotiation skills to librarians in 2002 when I was working for a development agency (INASP) whose mission was to connect researchers in developing countries with international research information.
My role was to negotiate affordable and sustainable licenses with 40+ of the world’s leading
scholarly publishers on behalf of libraries and consortia in 50+ countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and Latin America
Over time, I developed and delivered training workshops for partner librarians in these regions to help them develop the necessary skills to negotiate their own deals and thus serve their institutions and user communities in a confident, effective and sustainable way.
From this training I developed a 1-day workshop on behalf of UKSG which I’ve have been
facilitating since 2008. To date over 330 librarians have taken this training in the UK, Eire, continental Europe and the Middle East.
I am also an ICF-accredited professional coach and expert facilitator with a passion for well-designed, immersive learning which enables people to realise their full potential and engage with their work with creativity, wisdom and confidence. (For information about my coaching services visit: www.sarahdurrant.co.uk).
