Want to offer your products and services through Califa?
Here's how it works:
Contact the Operations Manager, Susan Kantor-Horning, at skantor at califa.org, or phone (650) 356-2132.
The first pieces of information we will need from you are: a price discount proposal for our members (we will not consider any products that do not offer at least a 15% discount, unless it is a very exceptional case), any previously published reviews of your product, trial information, and simple marketing collateral including a basic description of the product.
The Operations Manager and Member Services Coordinator, Heather Teysko, may vet the product with a Product Review Team, a committee of selected reference librarians drawn from a subset of member libraries, who will review the product.
In some instances members will complete a review of the product, which can be shared with the vendor for their response.
Once the Product Review Team, and the Califa staff have decided that the product should be offered to Califa Members, the Operations Manager will request a License Agreement and negotiate the terms. In some instances, steps 2 – 3 will be bypassed, and move directly to license and cost negotiation.
A general trial, accessible via our trials web page, will then be established for the full membership. Vendor contact information will also be displayed on the trials web page.
Announcements will go out to general membership listservs, as well as our blog and website, with relevant discount information.
The Califa office will collect and aggregate orders and a spreadsheet will be sent to the vendor, listing all subscribing libraries and costs.
Califa will provide central billing and invoicing services to all subscribers and to the vendor.
The vendor will supply activation information for the products, which will be sent to all subscribers.
WHY should you offer your products through Califa?
We can help market your products to our 220+ member libraries in California through webinars, mailings, blog postings, website postings, emails, and assistance setting up physical presentations in California.
We sign one contract on behalf of our members. You do not need to collect separate contracts for all participating libraries, which can take a long time when it needs to be vetted through city and county legal departments.
We will invoice all our participating libraries. You send one invoice to us. We collect the money and send it to you.
Many libraries have an easier time ordering through Califa as we are already established in their purchasing office and can more easily fill out the paperwork required to become a vendor. We are also in the process of getting certified as a CMAS vendor for the state of California.
