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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.
Net Advantage
The Net Advantage product provides access to 11 of Standard and Poor's financial information products. The product provides a search engine that allows the user the ability to retrieve information from all the products quickly. These products provide data specific to
- Public Company Information - full financials, earning expectations, S&P’s proprietary evaluation of the company’s outlook, peer-to-peer comparisons.
- Private Company Information – officers and directors, sales revenue, biographical information
- Industry Information – detail view on over 52 Industries
2. What are the hardware and software requirements for using all the features of the product?
Hardware requirements: connection to the internet, at least 28.8 bps download speed.
Software requirements: For optimum usage, IE 4.01 or NetScape 4.0x, though the site supports IE3.x and NetScape 3.x. Javascript should be enabled.
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?
No, remote access is not included for the subscription price. Net Advantage supports user authentication (NT challenge method), IP recognition, and pass-through authentication (referrer authentication). However, S&P would need to discuss how many expected remote users would be able to reach the site.
4. Please discuss any methods or assistance you offer regarding remote access patron verification and authentication.
If the user has a valid user id/password combination no other information is required or collected. For IP recognition and pass-through authentication, we rely on the client (in this case, a library) to have proper security in place to ensure that only library patrons are accessing our data. For instance, a library requesting pass-through authentication must have the referring URL in a secure area, accessible only to users with a valid library card or some other efficient means of authenticating users of their own system.
5. What end user delivery options, such as printing, emailing or faxing results, are available beyond just viewing results on the computer monitor?
All pages can be printed. In addition, a user can export almost any data available in our databases in comma-delimited format. These files can, of course, be emailed, saved, or used in other applications.
6. What customer training is provided, and at what cost?
Most training would be provided through our on-line Help, though we will also provide a quick reference guide. Depending on the size of the contract, we will provide on-site training as necessary without additional cost to the subscriber.
7. What customer and technical support is provided, including hours of operation.
We have a product support desk which is open from 8:30am to 8pm EST, Monday through Friday. They can answer most usage and technical questions before having to escalate the call to the product managers. Business and sales issues are best handled through the salesperson, who is normally available from 9am to 5pm EST, Monday through Friday.
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 .
We are currently creating user statistics that comply with internal requirements established by Standard & Poor’s. Further review of the ICOLC is necessary to determine if our statistical reporting complies.
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.
Marketplace and range of users determine the pricing structure. Academic and public libraries receive approximately 40% to 50% discount from the corporate marketplace pricing model. Academic library pricing is based on FTE’s. All other is based on the number of sites and product package chosen.
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, providing that the service level remains the same or that the number of libraries in the buying group remain the same, or doesn't drop below the minimum.
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? What is the minimum discount for a group buy? Please clarify how you would treat existing library customers with regard to a group buy.
S&P would require that 30% of the libraries within the state participate to warrant a group discount price.
12. Please provide name and contact information (toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, hours, etc.) should libraries wish to make further inquires.
Bill Kelleher
1-800-221-5277 ext 4052
e-mail: [email protected]