NN/LM Affiliate Guidelines

General Guidelines

Requirements

In order to be an NN/LM Affiliate, SCELC requires the following:

Policies and Procedures

  1. Licensing Resources

    1. Your institution may license electronic resources or other library services through SCELC at SCELC discounted rates.

    2. There may be exceptions where a vendor will require a different charge for NN/LM Affiliates, or may not allow SCELC to offer a particular product to NN/LM Affiliates. In such instances SCELC must abide by the vendor’s guidelines. Custom quote transaction fees may apply in the case of such exceptions.

  2. Surcharges and Transaction Fees.

    For each electronic resource acquisition, the following charges will be applied:

    1. Administrative surcharge of 5% or 1%, depending on the product. This surcharge is the same charged to all SCELC member libraries.

    2. Transaction fee. The transaction fee is specific to each electronic resource or service to which you subscribe. It will be one of the following figures, depending on the product being purchased or licensed:

      • $50 for products with a set pricing schedule
      • $100 for products requiring a custom quote
      • $150 for e-journal packages
      • 10% of the purchase price if 10% is less than the $50 level

  3. Invoice Payments

    It is understood that subscription to electronic resources or services is predicated upon prompt payment of all invoices to SCELC within 30 days of the invoice date. A copy of the invoice must accompany payment. Late payment will result in a penalty being applied, as explained in the appended Delinquent Invoices document. Failure to remit payment according to stated deadlines may result in cancellation of the service.

Accounts Payable Explanation for SCELC NN/LM Affiliates

SCELC has designed an Accounts Payable System that allows the organization to maintain good standing with its vendors. To accomplish this task, SCELC sends various types of invoices during the year, each of which serve their respective purposes.

These invoice types are as follows:

  • Administrative Surcharge Invoices
  • Master Renewal Invoices
  • Quarterly Reconciliation Invoices
  • New Database Invoices
  • Credits

Submission of Payments

SCELC provides an invoice copy with every billing. Please include the copy of the invoice with all payments. Please be sure your Accounting or Business office follows this procedure and uses the following address for submission of payments:

SCELC
P.O. Box 60330
Los Angeles, CA 90060-0330

Administrative Surcharge Invoices

The Administrative Surcharge Invoice (ASI) is mailed in the middle of June. The surcharges are based on the previous year’s expenditures for an institution and are either 1% or 5% depending on the licensed resource.

Master Renewal Invoices

Approximately one week after the Administrative Surcharge Invoices are sent, SCELC mails the Master Renewal Invoice (MRI). This invoice is based on the Master Renewal Order Form (sent at the end of your fiscal year), which is a comprehensive list of databases and journal packages to which your institution is currently subscribing. The prices that appear on the MRI are based on the previous year’s pricing. If a database appears on the MRI, then the database will be renewed for the year, even though the actual renewal may not take place until later in the fiscal year.

Quarterly Reconciliation Invoices

To deal with price increases and decreases, SCELC sends Quarterly Reconciliation Invoices (QRI) during the fiscal year. Any database renewed during that quarter will appear on the QRI, with the actual amount due. Since a portion of the amount due for a particular database was paid on the MRI, a credit will appear against the actual amount due. In some cases, the costs on the MRI may be more than the actual cost on the QRI, resulting in a credit. This credit can be used to pay other outstanding invoices or can be carried over to the next year’s MRI for future purchases.

New Database Invoices

When an institution purchases a new database through SCELC, an invoice is sent for the amount due for the new subscription. The definition (in terms of SCELC) of a new database is any database that does not appear on the Master Renewal Invoice. This would apply where SCELC has a pre-existing contract with a vendor and an institution would like to add that database to their collection; or, it would apply where there is a new vendor contract with SCELC. These invoices may be sent anytime during the fiscal year.

Credit Memos

Credit memos are usually issued with the Quarterly Reconciliation Invoices, where the amount that was paid on the Master Renewal Invoice is larger then the actual cost. Credit memos look similar to regular SCELC invoice, except for two minor differences. Firstly, the total is in parentheses, denoting a negative number. Secondly, in the “Due Date” section of the invoice, instead of a date, the words “credit memo” will appear. Credit can be applied to outstanding invoices by simply faxing a copy of the credit and a copy of the outstanding invoice to the Business Manager at the SCELC Administrative Offices, (310) 471-0123.

Monthly Statements

SCELC funding depends on prompt payment of all invoices. SCELC has a notification system to remind libraries of outstanding invoices. A monthly Statement of Accounts will be sent to remind you of your current account status. SCELC also enforces payment guidelines for outstanding invoices, as outlined in the Delinquent Invoice Procedure document.

SCELC Delinquent Invoice Procedures

Regulations Governing Delinquent Payments to SCELC:

  1. All SCELC invoices are issued with a due date of 30 days from the date of the invoice and payment is normally expected by the due date. However, a grace period of an additional 15 days beyond the due date on the invoice is allowed for late payment without penalty. Thus, an affiliate institution has an allowance of 45 days from the date of the invoice to make payment to SCELC without penalty.

  2. A SCELC invoice is considered overdue, as classified below, and is subject to escalating penalties and fees if the SCELC Office has not received payment for the invoice within the date ranges indicated below:

    1. Delinquent: more than 46 days past the date of issuance on the invoice
      • Penalty Fee of 3% of the total amount of the invoice.
    2. Seriously delinquent: 90 days past the date of issuance on the invoice
      • Penalty Fee of 5% of the total amount of the invoice.
      • SCELC’s Executive Director shall instruct the database vendor or producer to suspend access to the database(s) represented on the overdue invoice to the affiliate institution in question if the invoice is for an electronic resource or electronic resources.
    3. Critically delinquent: 120 days past the date of issuance on the invoice
      • Penalty Fee of 10% of the total amount of the invoice
      • SCELC’s Executive Director may recommend to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors that an affiliate institution in question be suspended from affiliate status in SCELC.
    4. All dates noted above EXCLUDE holidays and holiday periods, e.g. the four-day Thanksgiving weekend and the period between December 24 and January 1, etc.