The J.W. Pepper Blanket Order Plan was started in 1973 to provide libraries with a means for automatically collecting new music scores published in North America. Since its inception, the Blanket Order Plan has become an essential element of collection development for libraries of all sizes.

The basic arrangement is as follows: J.W. Pepper sends a selection of recently published music scores in accordance with previously arranged criteria. The librarian then chooses those he or she wishes to keep and returns the rest to us.

Although our Blanket Order Plan was originally instituted at the request of major research collections, we have been able to make the Blanket Order attractive to the smaller library as well. Advantages of the Blanket Order, including a reduction in both the library's paperwork and staff time, make this arrangement especially attractive. Any library that collects current material may wish to consider instituting a Blanket Order arrangement.

A major advantage of the Pepper Blanket Order Plan is that it saves time for the library staff, for once the order has been established, the librarian's routine administrative duties end. He or she need no longer go through the lengthy process of searching catalogues and card files and preparing order slips.

Another advantage is the immediate availability of new publications. We review over 17,000 new works each year from more than 3,000 different publishers, making the Pepper Blanket Order Plan the librarian's best means of staying current with new publications.

A third advantage lies in the constant flow of new material to the library. A shipment is made regularly, and, as a result, the librarian no longer is in danger of having to order heavily at the beginning or end of the fiscal year. Instead, they may allocate a certain amount of money to be used up over the course of the year.

The Pepper Blanket Order Plan gives the library control over its acquisitions. In the following pages, we have outlined possible ways for your library to set up a Blanket Order arrangement. Our staff is ready and able to work with you in setting up a plan that is right for your collection and for your library's budget.

J.W. Pepper is the leading library dealer offering a Blanket Order Plan for North American music publications, and has been operating such a plan for over thirty years. The careful and meticulous organization of our Blanket Order, together with our customized services and Total Satisfaction Guarantee, make J.W. Pepper the first choice for your library's music orders.

The Pepper Blanket Order Plan supplies recently published original works, including new editions of earlier music. All new publications from publishers active in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are carefully screened. Coverage includes both major publishers as well as smaller houses.

The Pepper Blanket Order Plan divides new publications into the following categories, any of which the library may choose to include or modify for the library's profile:

• Group I. Contemporary composers (those active mainly after 1900).
• Group II. Earlier composers (those active mainly before 1900).
• Group III. Popular music song folios (including Broadway, rock music, folk music, country and western, blues, and other similar categories).

For further precision, we have subdivided the composers represented in the first group (contemporary music) into the following categories:

• Category 1. Well-recognized composers, whose works are regularly performed or recorded, and whose music is issued by major publishers.
• Category 2. Less well-known composers.
• Category 3. Lesser well-known composers, whose music is issued by minor publishers, or who are not well known for concert or recital music.

Please note that our categories do not make any judgement of the quality of any composer's music; rather they represent our staff's estimation of the importance of these composers' works to library collections. We invite libraries setting up Blanket Orders to specify which of these categories are being collected. The librarian may, of course, present us with any alterations to these composer lists.

Shipments will usually include all new publications issued after the agreed-upon starting date of the plan. We feel the best measure of publication date is the date a new-issued copy of the score is received by our office. This measures availability more accurately than copyright date, especially since musical works may be copyrighted months or years before printed scores are issued. We will work with the librarian in any way possible should there be concern over conflicts or possible duplications between the library's existing open orders and the Blanket Order Plan. In general, however, and in our experience, this has not been a problem.

Since we keep careful track of publication dates, it is easily possible to begin a Blanket Order with publications already issued. For example, if a Blanket Order is to begin on March 1, 2004 and the library has not been ordering since the start of the year, we can begin the Blanket Order with publications issued since January 1, 2004.

The Pepper Blanket Order Plan gives coverage of all music scores published in North America. Place of publication is usually defined as place of copyright. Where no location, or multiple locations, are listed, the first city listed on the title page is defined as place of origin. Should place of copyright be unclear, we use place of printing.

The Blanket Order Plan is carefully operated so that there is no duplication between similar plans in operation by English and European library dealers. Where publishers exist in multiple locations (such as Oxford or Peters), we carefully examine the scores to make sure that they are indeed North American in origin.

There is no fixed cost to the Pepper Blanket Order Plan, nor is there any minimum price restriction. The librarian controls the amount spent and may easily set the allotment at the start of each budget year. Each library subscribing to our Blanket Order Plan has applied different restrictions on the type of material to be sent. Some have placed a unit price restriction, or have asked not to have editions in certain mediums. Selections are made with care and intelligence, and any instructions will be adhered to.

The library may wish to restrict coverage to a specific list of composers. The librarian should bear in mind that almost no American composers publish as many as five scores in a year, and so very little material will actually be received automatically. Should you wish to set up an order of this type, we recommend that you revise the composer list regularly, at least once each year.

For the greatest possible service to our library clients, J.W. Pepper provides all bibliographic information in our exclusive Library New Issue e-Club. For every new score, our New Issue e-Club provides the following information: main entry, full title, editor names, instrumentation, publisher and place of publication, copyright date or date of publication, price, and descriptive notes. In addition, you may place orders directly from the e-Club, or add selected titles to a Suspended Order for ordering later in the year.

The New Issue e-Clubs are not limited to scores supplied on Blanket Order. Rather, they include virtually all new publications of library importance received by our office. Many foreign publications, important method books, reprints, and monographs are also included. Our New Issue e-Clubs give the library a full record of all new music published, and are a most convenient tool for the library to order additional scores.

Your blanket order with J.W. Pepper may be set up to include all new publications from certain publishers, for any one particular instrument or ensemble, or for any individual composers. While coverage is generally limited to music scores published within North America, we will be glad to discuss special orders for music published outside North America as well.

Notice of new series originating in North America is sent to Blanket Order subscribers, with an invitation to subscribe through J.W. Pepper. Since it is felt that libraries will generally handle subscriptions through separate processes, new volumes within series are generally not sent on the Blanket Order. However, Pepper does announce new volumes in the New Issue e-Club, making it as convenient as possible for libraries to check their holdings and make sure their standing orders are kept up to date. Publishers' numbered editions, such as Schirmer study scores, are not considered series.

Our Blanket Order customers can view current account information and make adjustments to their Blanket Order profile online at any time. From the Account Services menu at jwpepper.com, select Account Inquiry and then the Library Maintenance link beside your account name. Here you will find a current listing of Blanket Order expenditures, your account balance, and also a link to update your Blanket Order Plan profile.

Within our Account Services menu, you will also find detailed information for all firm, standing and blanket orders placed with us. This includes current order status and a shipment summary, complete with links to tracking information for every package. Payment information can also be displayed, showing both paid and open invoices, and orders on approval. Copies of invoices may be obtained online as well. Simply enter your account number and invoice number to view, print, or e-mail a PDF copy of the invoice.

The library subscribing to the Pepper Blanket Order Plan receives all blanket order shipments at current retail prices. The library may also order additional material appearing in the New Issue e-Club. Prepublication savings and other special prices are passed on to the library.

The library may return for credit any material (in unmarked, new condition) supplied on the Pepper Blanket Order Plan. Scores should be returned via UPS or FedEx, where possible. Please do enclose a brief explanation of the return, so that we may adjust the library's profile. J.W. Pepper will issue credit upon receipt of the return. The library may adjust the invoice when it makes the return or it may wait for our credit memo.

Every month our staff gathers all the new scores received during that period, and then makes a selection of scores for your library based upon your selection criteria and your remaining budget for the year. We will email you a list of scores that have been selected, so that you will know exactly what you can expect to receive. At the same time, we will send you the New Issue e-Club, featuring full bibliographic information for the scores that are to be shipped, as well as all other new scores not provided on your blanket order. The scores we have selected can be expected to follow within 2 - 4 weeks.