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• Sociology at Blackwell

FAQs

We hope to have answered some of the more typical questions you may have here. However, if you have any queries about the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology and can't find the information in these pages, please do contact us.

Q. How do I purchase the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology for my institution?
A. Please speak to your librarian, who can order the Encyclopedia direct or through their library supplier. Visit our ordering page to find out more. Please remember that because of their budgets your librarian will need as much advance notice as possible.

Q. Who is the Encyclopedia aimed at?
A. All students and researchers in sociology will need access to the Encyclopedia. With entries ranging from extended explorations of major topics, to short definitions of key terms, the Encyclopedia is designed for expert and newcomer alike.

Q. When will the Encyclopedia be available?
A. Publication is scheduled for December 2006.

Q.What is BEOS Online?
A. BEOS Online is the online version of the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology.

Q. Why should we subscribe to BEOS Online?
A. BEOS Online is the first new major reference work in Sociology for a generation. It is published simultaneously both print and online versions to provide users with the opportunity to access this key resource in the most convenient manner.

The online version offers:

• Continuous and immediate 24/7 access to a major new resource for Sociology for students and academics
• Powerful searching and browsing capabilities
• Extensive cross-referencing and Open URL technology
• An accessible, easy to navigate user interface
• Self administered access
• Industry standard usage reporting
• MARC records support

Q. How can I buy BEOS Online?
A. BEOS Online can be purchased in two ways:

• An annual subscription with all updates included
• An outright purchase with an annual fee covering hosting and updates.

It is available direct from Blackwell via your usual suppliers.

Q. Is there a pre-publication offer on BEOS Online?
A. Yes. Like the print version of BEOS, BEOS Online and the print-online bundles of BEOS have special pre-publication prices.

Q. What if I have already ordered or purchased the print version?
A.Please contact your supplier or email journal.news@blackwellpublishing.com to upgrade your purchase to include BEOS Online at the special bundle price. You can upgrade from print only to include BEOS Online for up to six months after you have purchased the print version.

Q. How much is BEOS Online?
A. Pricing is based on institutional size and type.

Q. How do I know how much my institution will pay?
A. Please contact Blackwell with details of your institution with your full institutional address and contact details also including:

• Type (e.g. University, 4 Year College, 2 Year College, Public Library, Government or Corporate, School)
• Size (e.g. FTE enrolment, population served or number of employees.)

Q. Can we have a trial of BEOS?
A. Yes, we can arrange a 60 day trial for you. Please contact us to arrange this.

Q. What if I buy the print and the online versions of BEOS?
A. If you buy the print and online version there is a special reduced price.

Q. How many updates are there per year?
A. The BEOS team anticipate that there will be several updates per year adding new articles and adding new features.

Q. When can I start my subscription?
A. You may start your subscription at any time during the year. Subscriptions run for 12 months.

Q. What is Blackwell doing to ensure I can always access BEOS Online?
A. Blackwell is committed to ensure that their customers continue to have access to resources they have purchased, as well as using a robust and scalable systems to deliver BEOS Online. It is looking closely at current options for ensuring archival access to its content.

Q. How is access controlled?
A. The standard options are available including IP address recognition, ATHENS ( UK only), library cards, referring URL, and username and password for remote users. If you require further options please contact Blackwell.

Q. How do subscribers gain access to the full text of articles?
A. Once the user is authenticated they will have immediate access to the full text of all articles.

Q. Is there a limit to the number of concurrent users?
A. No. Institutional access is unlimited.

Q. Are usage statistics provided?
A. Yes, when you purchase your subscription, you will be given access administrative access to a subscriber services area where you can access a full range of usage statistics. The reports will be COUNTER compatible.

Q. What kinds of reference linking does BEOS use?
A. Currently Open URL linking. When you purchase your subscription, you will be given access administrative access to a subscriber services area where you can add details of your link resolver.

Q. What do I keep if I decide in the future to cancel my subscription?
A. If in the unlikely event you do wish to cancel your access, your options depend on how you have paid for BEOS Online:

• Subscription customers will no longer be able to access BEOS Online but will have the opportunity to purchase a version for local hosting including all updates included up until the end of the subscription period.
• Outright purchase customers can request a version for local hosting complete with all updates supplied to date.

Q. What are your terms for copying/coursepacks?
A. We waive copyright costs for personal and student course use.

Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Blackwell Publishing.

Technical Questions

Q. What are the technical standards that BEOS online will conform to?
A. Every page on the sites will comply with the following criteria:

1. HTML validity.
   All pages delivered will be valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional, as defined by the W3C
2. Screen resolution.
   All pages will be useable (with no horizontal scrolling wherever possible) when the screen resolution is set to 800x600 pixels.
3. Color.
   All pages will be useable when the color depth is set to 256 colours.
4. Window re-sizing.
   All pages will correctly re-flow text and images when browser windows are resized; line lengths for textual material will always be relative to the current window size.
5. Frames.
   No frames will be used in the entire site.
6. Platforms and browsers.
   Pages will display fully on the following platform and browser combinations:
   • Windows IE 6.0
   • Windows IE 5.0
   • Windows IE 5.5
   • Windows Netscape 7.0
   • Macintosh IE 5
   • Macintosh Netscape 7.0
   • Macintosh Safari 1.x
   • Mozilla 1.x
   • Firefox 1.x
   Pages will also display reliably on the following:
   • Lynx
   • Opera 8
7. Unicode.
   Unicode will be used to render accented and non-roman characters in site pages. The encoding used to deliver Unicode characters will be UTF-8.
8. Text size.
   The stylesheets used to format text on the site will not set absolute point sizes; this will allow the user to re-size the text to a comfortable reading size using the controls that their browser provides.
9. Cookies.
   Usage of cookies for users of the sites may be mandatory for certain areas of the web site.

Q. Do you offer library card access to BEOS Online?
A. Librarians or account administrators have the option to allow their users to access BEOS Online using their library card. Please contact us if you would like to offer library card access to your users.