By Dominique Tassell
Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) carried a motion on 11 August to no longer request quotes or tenders for the purchase of library materials, due to the specialised nature of the supplies.
A report was provided detailing where the libraries obtains supplies and the average amount spent.
The library sources standard print titles through all the main suppliers in the Queensland market.
Standard print titles are obtained through three suppliers: Peter Pal, James Bennett, and The Book House.
Smaller specialist suppliers such as MDM, Sound Text Media, and Phoenix are also used.
The report noted that purchases are dependent on many factors including when suppliers visit and what stock is available.
All suppliers are part of the LocalBuy library contract and the item price is usually the same regardless of supplier.
Items purchased online are to fill customer requests, gaps in the collection and online resources.
To date for 2020/2021, SDRC libraries have spent $17,077.49 on supplies through Book House (Campion Education).
SDRC libraries have bought $14,311.20 worth of supplies from James Bennett.
Supplies totalling $11,768.17 have been purchased from Peter Pal (Lugton Family Trust).
Finally, $1976.61 have been spent of supplies from Sound Text Media.
Nothing has been purchased from Phoenix due to Covid-19.
Magazines are purchased through the local newsagents in Warwick and Stanthorpe.
The report stated that “as magazine prices are standard wherever they are purchased, there are no savings to be made by ‘shopping around’”.
“There are online magazine subscription agencies, but using one of these would incur postage costs and would no longer allow the library service to support local businesses.”
To date in the 2020/21 period, $3732.33 has been spent at Hynes Newsagency in Warwick.
In that same period, $1567.28 has been spent at Stanthorpe Newsagency.
The report stated that Large Print (LP) books and non-print material, such as jigsaws and audio-visual items, are purchased through specialist suppliers, most of whom have access to exclusive content via partnerships with various publishing imprints.
The library sources Large Print & audiobook titles through the three main suppliers in the Queensland market – Ulverscroft, Wavesound and Bolinda.
Each of these companies is the sole supplier of exclusive content and the report stated that this meant money spent depends on the quality and quantity of stock available.
The report stated that the library sources DVDs and CDs mostly through specialist supplier MDM Entertainment, and occasionally also purchases locally from Sanity or Big W.
The library sources jigsaw puzzles through specialist online supplier Jigsaws Delivered.
The library sources eResources through three companies – Bolinda Digital, Wavesound and Overdrive.
The report stated that each of these companies is the sole supplier of the product, which includes ebooks, eMagazines, eAudio and online training courses.
For the 2020/21 time period, $25,727.74 has been spent on supplies from Wavesound, with the report stating they are the sole supplier of the goods purchased there.
Bolinda and Bolinda Digital was also identified as a sole supplier of any items purchased there, with $33,280.77 spent in the 2020/21 time period.
Ulverscoft was identified as a specialist supplier, with $28,220.93 spent on supplies.
Overdrive, identified as a sole supplier, received $14,000.00 from the library.
The library finally spent $17,411.82 on supplies from MDM, a specialist supplier.
The total money spent mentioned in the report is $169,074.34, which falls under the annual budget stated in the report.
The report stated that the annual budget for library materials is approximately $183,000 per year.
The amounts vary year by year depending on the amount of the library grant received from the State Library of Queensland.
