Access Problem Solving (digprob)
Investigating new digital products (helpful hints for product sponsors)
Communicating with vendors | Gathering information | Arranging a trial
Communicating with vendors
Initial inquiry about the product
The subject specialist sponsoring the product for possible purchase at MIT usually makes the initial inquiry to the vendor. Vendor contact information can usually be found at the product's website. You may want to do an initial search in staff vera; if we have a product from the same publisher or via the same interface, you may find more direct contact information.
The Digital Resources Acquisitions Librarian is available to act as a resource at any point in this process, and particularly to pick up with in-depth price negotiation or problem solving.
For more information on the interaction of these roles, see: Roles of product sponsor and Digital Resources Acquistions Librarian.
Gathering information
When making initial inquiries you will often want to consider:
Access method
- Authentication process via IP? Password? If Password accessed, is there one password for all users, or is each user required to create a username and password? We try to avoid the latter model, and in general IP filtering is much better for us than password access.
- Campuswide access? We try to avoid any situation where a publisher wants to limit access to certain workstations, buildings, or departments.
Pricing model
What is basis for pricing? Common models are FTE based pricing, or pricing based on the number of simultaneous users.
- FTE based: Our current FTE is 10,204 for FY03. This number is for undergraduate and graduate students combined, and is derived from the MIT facts page at http://web.mit.edu/facts/enrollment.shtml. If a provider wants a number other than student FTE, please contact Ellen Duranceau.
- Simultaneous users: you may want to ask how users are counted: for example, some products count simultaneous users only when accessing fulltext; others count at the entry point to the entire product. You may also want to ask how long a certain user is held in an active session when no inputs are made to the system -- in other words, what the timeout period is.
If the pricing model is not based on FTE or simultaneous users, you will want to get specifics about the pricing formula. Also inquire if consortial discounts are available.
Technical requirements
- Are any plug-ins required?
- What browsers are supported? Specifically, are both Internet Explorer and Netscape supported, and for which versions?
- What platforms are supported? Specifically, are Unix, Windows, and Macintosh all supported?
Interface
- Are any major changes to the interface design currently underway that might affect our launch of your product in the next 6 months?
- Is there anything about the functionality or access during the trial period that will look different after purchase? If so, can we arrange a trial that looks and functions exactly as the product will after purchase? Minimally, can we have a full list of what the differences would be?
Arranging a trial
Broad interest: Please note that Ellen Duranceau normally arranges trials for products that will potentially be purchased with NERD funds. These trials are announced to a wide group of staff and are listed on the centralized trials page. Please contact Ellen to arrange this kind of trial.
Local interest: Trials for products that are primarily of local interest are normally arranged by the interested subject specialist and announced by that person to relevant staff. When making arrangements for a local trial, you may need the following information:
- Length of trial: We usually prefer a trial of one month, so that staff has time to review the product. In the past, two weeks has not been enough.
- License: Sometimes a license is required for the trial. If so, it needs to be reviewed by Ellen Duranceau, and signed by Ann Wolpert. Please contact Ellen.
- Access method for trial: Will the trial be IP filtered or will a password be provided? If IP based, provide IP information as described at IP Ranges at MIT.
Please note: if we already have a product with the vendor you are working with, and you are setting up a trial, please specify that you do not want to open access to the product on trial using our current account. Normally, we do not want to raise user expectations by having a database suddenly added to our list of real subscriptions through a given vendor. If they cannot offer an IP filtered trial without affecting our pubic account, set up a password based trial