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(Note from the Washington State Library: In order to participate in the Fall 2000 Washington State Databases Trial, each vendor was asked to address questions the Statewide Database Licensing Committee felt were most critical in order for library staff to evaluate products and vendors. Please contact the vendor's representative, listed below, for additional information on this product.)
1. Describe the database product(s). Include information on subject scope, percentage of full-text, dates of coverage, target audience (including age ranges), and how often the contents are updated.
AccessScience@McGraw-Hill
"AccessScience, web-based resource, offers all of the text and illustrations of the print version plus so much more. McGraw-Hill has enhanced the printed version of Encyclopedia of Science and Technology enormously...invaluable." - Library Journal 9/1/00 review
The core content of AccessScience@McGraw-Hill is the online McGraw-Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 8th Edition. Added are the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, the McGraw-Hill YEARBOOKS of Science & Technology, 1998, 1999 and 2000 editions, a licensed database of more than 2,000 biographies of scientists, and weekly news features licensed from Science NewsTM.
The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology is widely recognized as the authoritative reference source, a unique product with no real competition for the quality and depth of the information. There are contributions from nearly 9,000 recognized experts in their fields, including articles by no less than 20 Nobel Prize winners.
In addition to the powerful and clearly written searching capabilities and the daily updating, the content linking is one of the strongest features of AccessScience. There are more than 60,000 links just between the Encyclopedia articles alone, with tens of thousands of links between the other content. The licensed database of 2,000 biographies has been researched by our editorial staff, who have manually linked the biographies to the appropriate encyclopedia article , research and term definitions, so that in addition to learning about the scientist, the end user can understand the field in which the scientist worked or had an impact on. The same is done with the News stories, so that users can get a deeper and more rounded understanding of whatever late breaking science development has occured. The authoritativeness of the content in the print format is extended to the online product and will truly give the end user the most comprehensive, most reliable place on the internet to research science.
Subject Scope - AccessScience covers the entire spectrum of Science & Technology, breaking down the vast database of information into 20 main subject areas for easy navigation.
Full-text: Included is the full text of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 8th Edition. Virtually all the graphics from the print edition will be digitized and available on AccessScience by the end of the year 2000, with new artwork added every month. Target Audience - The primary audience is undergraduate college students and upper level high school students. A percentage of the material is accessible and useful to students in grades as low as 6th grade, provided they are guided. News writers, researchers and science enthusiasts have also been purchasers of the print edition. Pharmaceutical companies, engineering and manufacturing companies, aerospace companies, news organizations, chemical companies, government and military libraries, have all actively purchased many of the print or CD-ROM Encyclopedias.
Updates: AccessScience will be updated daily. Whether it's a new "news" article, updates to the encyclopedia content, new definitions added to the dictionary, there will be updating every single day.
2. What are the hardware and software requirements for using all the features of the product?
A Java-capable brower is required (IE 3.0 or Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher). There are no plug-ins required for this product
3. Is remote access included for the subscription price? If there are additional charges or requirements in order to offer remote access, please describe. What methods of remote access are supported?
Remote access IS included in the subscription price. We would primarily support the use of a proxy server, and limited user id/password access.
4. Please discuss any methods or assistance you offer regarding remote access patron verification and authentication.
We support proxy server, referring page URL, and user id/password authentication. We are currently working on handling patron bar code authentication for public libraries.
5. What end user delivery options, such as printing, emailing or faxing results, are available beyond just viewing results on the computer monitor?
Articles can be printed one screen load at a time, or the entire article can be printed with a "Printable Version" button located on each article page. Programming for emailing the articles will be completed in 2001.
6. What customer training is provided, and at what cost?
Help is provided through the "AccessScience Wizard" - an online context-sensitive help feature, capable of providing the end-user with assistance for whatever part of the site he/she is viewing. There is also an online help feature. The AccessScience interface has been designed to be simple to learn and use, with a powerful search engine as the backbone. Group training for multiple libraries will be arranged upon request.
7. What customer and technical support is provided, including hours of operation.
24 hours toll free support in the US, 24-hour free email support, 7 days a week (non-toll free number for tech support outside the US, and the email support)
8. Describe the statistics you provide, and discuss whether your statistical reporting complies with guidelines developed by the International Coalition of Library Consortia which may be found at www.library.yale.edu/consortia/webstats.html .
Institutional usage statistics are available for each subscriber, and are reported daily on a website accessible only by the subscribing institutions' librarian contact, aggregated daily, weekly and monthly . All efforts are being made to comply with the ICOLCs guidelines, but may vary to the extent that our programming allows us to capture specific information.
9. Describe your pricing structure or formula for the product. If there are additional costs for retrieving full text, describe the pricing for this service.
Pricing for AccessScience is based on FTE (full-time equivalents). Usage will vary among different types of institiutions, McGraw-Hill will offer to participants of the Washington State Database Trials the following weighting to these institution types:
4 - year Academic Institutions - 100% of enrollment (ie 100 students = 100 FTEs) 2 - year Community Colleges and Technical Schools - 75% of enrollment (ie 100 students = 75 FTEs) High Schools Grades 9-12 - 75% of enrollment (ie 100 students = 75 FTEs) Junior High School Grades 6-8 - 50% of enrollment (ie 100 students = 50 FTEs) Public Libraries - 5% of the total population served (i.e. 10,000 population = 500 FTEs)
Weighted FTE total Annual Subscription Price 0-500 FTEs $695 501-2000 FTEs $895 2,001-4,000 FTEs $1,695 4,001-20,000 FTEs $1,695 base + Add'l $.40 per FTE over 4,001
Call Rebecca Seger at 1-877-840-2297 for prices over 20,000 FTEs.
a. Library A: A high school library with 750 students in grades 9-12 - $895/year
b. Library B: A public library that serves a population of 100,000 and has two branches - $2,095
c. Library C: A public library that serves a population of 20,000 and has only one building, no branches - $895
d. Library D: A community college library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent students - $$1695
e. Library E: A four-year academic library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent students - $2,095
f. Library F: A hospital library serving a hospital that employees 1,000 staff plus has 200 doctors attached to the hospital - $1,695
10. If a library subscribes to any of your products as a result of this trial, will their future subscription rates continue to reflect any savings or discount they may receive today?
Yes, provided there is still a group purchase interest from other libraries covered by the Database Trials.
11. What is the minimum participation level (however you care to define it) that would be needed to allow participating libraries to receive a discount?
As few as 2 libraries could participate in a group purchase to receive a reduced rate. The more FTEs for a group purchase, the lower the FTE cost. Combining 10 high schools of enrollments of 1,000 students, would yield a total subscription price of $4,095/year - or $409.50 per school in a group purchase. That compares with a list price of $895 per school - a savings of more than 50%. McGraw-Hill encourages libraries to submit their orders together to take advantage of this significant savings.
What is the minimum discount for a group buy?
Pricing is FTE based, lower per-FTE cost the more FTEs that participate.
Please clarify how you would treat existing library customers with regard to a group buy.
If in the first 6 months of subscription, we will issue a credit. If the subscriber is in the last 6 months of a paid subscription, they can renew at group rates.
12. Please indicate whether libraries from Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and/or Hawaii would be eligible to participate in the group buying process.
If we had a central billing point at each of the other state library consortia, then McGraw-Hill would allow all the groups to combine for the best possible rate. The more FTEs that get together, the lower the rate.
13. Please provide name and contact information (toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, hours, etc.) should libraries wish to make further inquires.
If you have any questions or special needs, please call
Rebecca Seger
Director of Library Sales
toll free 1-877-840-2297
[email protected]
8am - 5pm EST