RE: InfoTrac� College Edition

["Donnelyn Curtis" <dcurtis@unr.edu>]

The textbook I was involved with didn't have a CD, just a card with a
unique password, loose between some pages of the book. I doubt that card
would even make it through processing in some libraries. Also, even
students who buy the book could easily lose the card, even though it says
on the card not to lose it. In fact, I can't find mine right now (I was
going to quote exactly what it says). Presumably, since I've registered, I
could get my password again from Gale, via Wadsworth. I wouldn't think
they would want to deal with lots of students who can't find their
passwords. It would be a good project for someone to find out how well
this process is working for the publishers and the students in the
classes. I'm guessing it is evolving. But the problems for libraries
purchasing the textbooks would probably not be considered high on
Thomson's list of problems to be solved. The revenue from students is much
more substantial. It would probably work better for the teachers of each
class using the textbook to register once for the class and get a password
that everyone in that class could use for the semester, which would expire
after four months of use. But as David Goodman says, that wouldn't squelch
the used textbook market.

Donnie Curtis
University of Nevada, Reno

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 4:55 PM
> To: 'liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu'
> Subject: RE: InfoTrac� College Edition
>
> One of the problems I see is that libraries purchasing these textbooks-all
> academic libraries I've worked at do some textbook purchasing--will have
> CD's in textbooks that are no longer valid (i.e. they've been "used").This
> means students who use the textbooks "next time" will come in demanding
> access to infotrac. (Iassume we've all had students asking for floppys and
> CD's with books that don't work already)Isn't this just making it more
> likely university and college libraries will put in policies that say we
> won't buy or accept as gifts textbooks from Wadsworth, Brooks/Cole,
> Duxbury, Heinle, Schirmer, and South-Western with CD's?
>
> Chuck