AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive |
Note from the Washington State Library: In order to participate in the Winter 2002 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). If you want us to link to more than one product, provide a unique description for each product. Be sure we know what information belongs with each product. If there are special hardware or software needs, please make sure you include them in this description. When you provide a description of your product, please go beyond the typical advertising brochure text. We are hoping for a thoughtful, descriptive paragraph that will enable someone unfamiliar with your product to understand the nature and coverage of your product. The more concise the description, the better.
Roughly 750,000 of the best news-photographs from the Associate Press reservoir of 50 million print negatives are available online from the AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive exclusively. The Associated Press Photo Archive is divided into two parts. One part contains all the news photos that move across Associated Press's spot picture system each day, which gives researchers the unique opportunity to see numerous photographs that never make it into print nor onto TV. The other part of this archive contains the images in the historical archive that date back to a circa-1840 photograph of Alexander Twilight, the first African-American to earn a college degree. The subject matter represented in the image database is as diverse as the user population. This is not stock photography, but rather the history of the world since the mid-1800s as captured by Associated Press photographers, winners of more Pulitzer Prizes than any other news agency.
The Graphics Database consists of almost 16,000 maps, graphs, charts, logos, illustrations, diagrams, etc. They provide excellent visuals for multimedia presentations. Graphics files (as with photos) are available through the Multimedia Archive as soon as AP posts them. These graphics are of the same high quality found in college science textbooks. Cutaway drawings of the Space Shuttle, with internal parts labeled and described, plate tectonics, volcanoes, and stock market charts are among the kinds of useful displayable information found here.
Over 700,000 Associated Press News Stories as well as more than 500,000 Associated Press audio clips are available as add on archives. Students and library patrons can enhance their assignments or research papers while not only learning about the world around them, but while they enhance the skills they need to develop the multimedia portfolios that are becoming increasingly necessary in the workplace.
2. 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? If applicable, please discuss any methods or assistance you offer regarding remote access patron verification and authentication.
Remote access is included for the subscription price. Authentication is based on IP address, referral URL, or user name and password. The AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive is designed to use IP verification through CGI Scripting. Each subscribing K-12 school, public library, and/or college provides AccuWeather with the IP addresses of their computers, and these IP addresses are used to verify all access.
3. What customer training is provided, and at what cost? Please include "freebies" such as Web-based tutorials, end-user documentation tents, cheat-sheets, etc.
A comprehensive list of instructions is available online under "User's Guides" on our Home Page http://ap.accuweather.com and includes complete details and samples of each search function. Photos and associated captions are indexed and searchable by: title, subject, author, format, language, date, keyword in subject, keyword in contents, truncation, proximity, natural language, range of dates, location, category, type of news story, relevancy, concept, color, and Boolean operatives -- AND, OR, NOT.
Live one-on-one or group training is available via the telephone at the customer's convenience at no charge. In-person training sessions are handled on a case-by-case basis.
4. What customer and technical support is provided, including hours of operation? In your reply, please include contact names (if applicable) or name of department, the phone numbers and e-mail addresses for your support services. If you have toll-free access to these support centers, please make sure they are available here.
Technical Support is available 24 X 7 X 365 through our toll-free phone number:
1-800-249-5389.
5. Please describe the statistics you provide, and discuss whether your statistical reporting complies in part or in whole with the guidelines developed by the International Coalition of Library Consortia found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/webstats.html
Monthly usage statistics are available. Reports will contain name of the participating institutions, and: statistics regarding the date and time of day that the archive was used first and last in the reported month, the total number of logins, the number of queries, the number of connections, and the number of downloads.
6. Describe your pricing structure or formula for the product. If there are additional costs for retrieving full text, describe the pricing for this service. (Note: This question means - we want to know what your list prices are and how you calculate your prices: Based on FTEs? On buildings? On a combination, or on something else?)
If you cannot provide a standard
price list that would enable each library to understand their cost to
subscribe, then for each product you must tell us the list price that
you would charge these hypothetical libraries.
a. Library A: A high school library with 750 students in grades 9-12
b. Library B: A public library that serves a population of 100,000 and
has two branches
c. Library C: A public library that serves a population of 20,000 and
has only one building, no branches
d. Library D: A community college library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent
students
e. Library E: A four-year academic library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent
students
f. Library F: A hospital library serving a hospital that employees 1,000
staff plus has 200 doctors attached to the hospital
K-12 prices are based on the number of buildings that are involved in a subscription, and each participating building's grade span. Public library rates are based on the number of buildings, and the population served. Academic institutions are charged according to their FTE. A price list is attached.
7. 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?
The discount from our list rates for libraries that become customers as a result of their participation in the winter 2002 trials is applied to the subscription term agreed to in the Sales Agreement. Subscriptions need to run at least one year.
8. 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? How will you treat existing library customers with regard to a group buy?
All libraries that subscribe as a result of the Winter 2002 trials are extended a 10% discount from our current list rates. The minimum discount for group subscriptions is 15% off our current list rates. A group is defined as an entire school district, an entire public library system and/or multiple and separately funded college campuses. Existing customers whose subscription price is higher will have the unused portion of their subscription credited so that their purchase price carries the same rate as the most current discount available. The credit will be applied as of the date of the first subscription for the same license that the newest customer has.
9. Please provide the name and contact information (toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, hours, etc.) for libraries to make further inquires. (Sales representatives for our area preferred.)
Please make further inquiries to Karen Parker. Her toll-free phone number is 888-438-9847, ext. 5338. Her e-mail address is: [email protected].