Re: Web sites accompanying textbooks

[Carl Anderson <ca25@drexel.edu>]

Stephen,

When I'm aware of these situations I register myself to prevent anyone
else from becoming "first lucky borrower."  As you observe, though, I
can't and don't share the password, so the website becomes institutionally
useless.  (Actually, I tell my colleagues that I'll access any such site
myself in an emergency to find needed information for them.  I've had
exactly one request to do so in more than two years.)

-- Carl

On Thu, 17 May 2001, Stephen Cramond wrote:

> Greetings, and apologies for cross-postings....
> 
> We are not sure how to handle the increasing number of books which come
> with associated web sites.  The big publishers [eg Pearson's and their
> associated imprints, such as Addison-Wesley] list hundreds of textbook
> titles with web sites. These sites appear to have some or all of the text
> online, and include links to additional web resources, online chat rooms
> etc etc. In other words, they seem to offer extra resources that we would
> like our users to know about and to use.
> 
> It seems fairly clear from the language used at these Web sites that the
> publishers are assuming that the books are being bought by individuals
> [students or instructors], rather than by libraries or institutions.  
> Thus far, therefore, we usually indicate on our catalogue records that the
> book in question has an associated web site without actually linking to
> the site.
> 
> This is OK as far as it goes, at least where the web site imposes no
> restrictions on who can access the site, and makes no attempt to require
> authentication.
> 
> It is not so clear to us, however, where we stand when the book provides
> the purchaser with what [one suspects] is a single user registration code
> with which to establish a username and password to access the site.  We
> don't want to leave it for the first lucky borrower to register and have
> the use of the web site exclusively, but if we register and create a
> userid/password should we then make it legitimately available for all
> users. Alternatively, do we register simply to investigate the site to
> establish what we can and can't do and write back to the publisher seeking
> clarification?
> 
> As a case in point, we have just bought Vander's 'Human Physiology' 8th
> ed., published by McGraw-Hill. The associated web site, although it
> assumes users have bought the book, is apparently available to all comers.
> However, the book also includes a flyer offering the purchaser the chance
> to register online for a resource that would 'add value' to their
> purchase. This turned out to be the 3rd ed of a related work called 'Case
> Histories in Human Physiology'. It became clear at this point that the
> prospective registrants had to be purchasers of the book to get access,
> and if they weren't they needed to purchase a password to get access.
> 
> Clearly, then, there are unsuspected complexities and, potentially, a lot
> of work to continually investigate what any given web site might offer,
> and to whom.  So, before we begin the process of systematically contacting
> publishers, we would be very pleased to hear from libraries that have
> shared our interest in letting their users know about and use these 'books
> with accompanying web sites'. We would like to know what problems you have
> encountered, and what responses you have had from publishers about the
> legitimacy of sharing userid/password information for these sites.
> 
> Many thanks in anticipation.
> 
> --
> Regards,
> 
> Steve Cramond 
> Electronic Information Resources Librarian
> University of Adelaide Library 
> 
> eMail: stephen.cramond@adelaide.edu.au
> Phone: +61 8 8303 3629
> Fax: +61 8 8303 4369
> Postal Address: Adelaide University Library, 
> Adelaide SA 5005,
> Australia
> 
> 

Carl A. Anderson
Coordinator of Technical Services
MCP Hahnemann University Libraries
215-762-1623
Carl.Anderson@drexel.edu