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EBSCO Book Services
EBSCO Book Services gives end-users desktop access to a large selection
of books in various disciplines, including contemporary fiction and nonfiction.
More than 500,000 titles are currently available. By year’s end, EBSCO
Book Services will offer an expanded inventory of more than 2.5 million
titles.
“While a number of book-ordering services are available on the Web, libraries and organizations need reporting tools to help them manage purchasing,” said F. Dixon Brooke Jr., vice president and division general manager of EBSCO Subscription Services. “With EBSCO Book Services we can provide invoicing and reporting options to help better manage and track book purchases.”
Administrative features available on EBSCO Book Services can help customers manage book-purchasing functions, such as accounting and reporting, within their organizations. Invoicing and credit card options provide flexible payment, and a secure server is provided for transactions. This is all available from one Web site and interface that’s designed to streamline the book-ordering process. In addition, customers that currently use EBSCONET for claiming and processing subscription orders will have access to their book-order history through EBSCONET.
Distribution centers are located through-out the continental U.S., allowing EBSCO to provide next-day delivery to more than 90 percent of its customers. Organizations can arrange to set up multiple ship-to and bill-to accounts, enabling books to be received at any location or within any department with complete payment and invoice information being sent to the appropriate office staff.
“EBSCO wants to provide customers with information resources no matter
the format,” said Brooke. “Books are an expansion of our traditional role
and we look forward to growing this service to meet the needs of libraries
and other organizations.”
Licensing Web Site
EBSCO’s new Web site enables librarians to review the licensing terms
of publishers with whom they wish to negotiate. Many of these license agreements
are also linked to the journal’s registration form. The site will eventually
be incorporated into EBSCO Online, providing users with links from the
service to the license agreements of publishers whose titles are available
via EBSCO Online.
EBSCO is also exploring the possibilities of handling the licensing process for some customers. In a recent pilot project, EBSCO acted on behalf of a large university to execute licensing agreements for its electronic journal subscriptions.
In addition, along with John Cox and three other subscription agents, EBSCO participated in the development of a suite of standard license agreements; these agreements are now available online at http://www.licensingmodels.com. The licenses were designed to be flexible and adaptable to account for the needs of different customers and publishers. Appropriate clauses can be selected to create a license that complies with both the customer’s need and publisher’s policy.
According to the announcement, the licenses reduce the burden on all parties involved by providing standard agreements that, once approved by the appropriate legal counsels, offer a fast and effective method of implementing negotiated terms.
“At minimum, customers need access to information about publisher license agreements, and we’re working to provide that through links on our Web site,” said Mark Williams, general manager of publisher promotion and fulfillment/online relations at EBSCO. “We can also help customers in perfecting licensing language and in some cases take an active role in licensing administration. As the popularity of e-content grows, we will continue to explore ways we can help make the licensing process easier for customers.”
Source: EBSCO Information Services, Birmingham, AL, 205/991-6600; ebsco0199-it.htm.
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