I. Introduction
II. Data conversion
III. Catalogues / Ordering systems
IV. Data supply for internal company networks
V. Offer one's own contents pages
VI. Author and publisher archives
VII. New partnerships
VIII. Accounting systems and collection
IX. Outlook
I. INTRODUCTION
Access to the Internet has nowadays become a matter
of fact , at least within the academic community. In comparison
with other businesses the traditional book trade took at a rather
early stage action in respect to pro-actively offering their services,
e.g. making their catalogues available on-line. What has helped
in doing this was the fact that since the mid-eighties the whole
process of publishing was based on computerised databases due
to economical reasons. It was possible to directly generate records
from the database thereby avoiding potential errors and the time
consuming development of a new lay-out. Therefore, by a simple
definition of the interface it was no problem to produce an on-line
version of the printed catalogue and to start off the prototype
of an on-line bookshop.
Beside the traditional retail bookshops, a number
of new on-line bookshops now emerged. It must be mentioned that
in this initial period the typical mail order book trade was far
less able to get a foot into the new on-line sector than the retail
book trade.
Experiences in direct mailing, the existent infrastructure
and customer contacts enable the book trade to point out the way
towards the future with regard to new ways of distribution of
electronic information.
II. DATA CONVERSION
The conversion of data from external databases into
a uniform data structure has for several years already been the
day-to-day business of bookshops. From all different sources and
interfaces a standardised data structure has to be produced. The
problem is that - apart from VLB, Books in Print, Bookbank, DVB,
Bookfind, BNF, BNB and RNB - every publishing house that offers
data in a structured way has its own format. Unfortunately, also
the exchange formats used in libraries could not succeed within
the book trade sector.
A flexible and compatible conversion software is
even more important because former efforts of the economical committee
of the "Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels”
to standardise all bibliographical data only resulted in the exchange
of ordering data between bookshops and the intermediate book traders.
This situation not only has an impact on the internal
book trade work but also on the users of these CD-ROM databases
in the libraries. For example, in the early eighties Lehmanns
developed a software that enables the user to convert and generate
ordering data from about 20 different databases (also including
some on-line union
catalogues) irrespectively of dispatch publishing
houses. This software is still used today by more than 100 libraries
including some university libraries, although there are now some
very efficient acquisition modules available via the integrated
library systems.
At the moment Lehmanns is in the process of exploring
a way to automatically assign short descriptions, contents pages
or samples to the bibliographical data of a document even if the
conversion process has to be done from a print copy.
III. CATALOGUES / ORDERING SYSTEMS
An efficient research software is the basis for a
successful on-line service. There are some very good examples
(http://www.buchkatalog.de, http://www.buchhandel.de) which can
be directly accessed by bookshops via link without having to keep
the data up-to-date or to do any administrative work.
For the bookseller there exists only one disadvantage
in this system. It is not possible to influence the contents of
the database, neither on the additional insertion of pictures,
contents lists, reviews, samples, blurbs nor on the full-text
electronic document. Ii is extremely complicated - if at all
possible - to include editorial amendments. But especially this
availability of additional information which offers more than
just the sheer bibliographical facts besides the facts "where
to find what” will be an essential prerequisite for the further
promotion and marketing of on-line products and finally determine
the users decision to buy the product. Sooner or later this will
be along with the quality and quantity of the database the main
factor for its use, especially in the academic world. Funnily
enough, in this field we are well ahead of the big American bookshops
. This is because in America only books which have made it into
the list of best-sellers have extra comments attached.
When an order is done electronically there is normally
no documentation at all, unless the user makes a printout of the
screen display or something similar. Lehmanns on-line bookshop
takes into account the problematic issue of the verification of
ordering data within each local system by transmitting the actual
ordering data via email into a special format. The exchange format
UK-Marc is used for this because it is as simple as possible and
also used by Whitakers Bookbank products and can be implemented
without major efforts into any ordering systems used by users.
In addition to on-line searches on the world-wide
web Lehmanns also offers an interface by email. If requested,
the title information can be delivered in a structured format:
"search@lehmanns.de”: bibliographic details and all extra information (excluding pictures)
"msearch@lehmanns.de”: bibliographic details
in UK-Marc format.
As a supplement to the monographic database a free
of charge test copy of Medline (for a restricted time period only)
with all functionality of the SilverPlatter retrieval software
is available via the Lehmanns server.
IV. DATA SUPPLY FOR INTERNAL NETWORKS
More and more companies and institutions build-up
their own Intra- and Extranets. In addition to the canteen menue
and the list of telephone numbers another possible use with highly
guaranteed acceptance is a literature database based on specific
company needs. This corresponds with the usual new publications
lists but with essential advantages:
Companies or institutions normally are in charge
of their retrieval software. Therefore it is insignificant on
which platform the data is offered. A minimal solution to this
are static HTML pages which Lehmanns can directly supply. Normally
the data are processed and delivered by criteria given by the
customer. Then they will be read into the local database and made
available to staff, together with ordering or lending functions.
Especially in this case it applies that only with the highest
quantity of extra information the best use can be made. Lehmanns
has started a trial run of this procedure together with the Special
Information centre of Siemens. Every month about 2000 to 3000
titles are generated and exchanged through the World Wide Web
download (www.download).
V. OFFER ONE'S OWN CONTENTS PAGES
In the age of on-line publications the distribution
book trade faces one big disadvantage: There are none or only
a very few original documents at its disposal and therefore the
distribution depends on the production of the publishing houses.
One point about electronic publications is that their production
is much cheaper than the production of print products. Without
any difficulties second editions (depending on demand) can be
produced at almost identical cost. An example is the re-print
of 500-1000 pieces of the very successful German deblan-Linux-distribution
(a double CD with installation guidelines). This could be done
at the same cost as the cost of the first edition (on which the
actual selling price has been calculated). The cost benefit of
a substantially high quantity of first edition copies is so small
with regard to the overall estimate that it would not count for
the calculation of the shop price.
Of course this estimate is only valid given that
the authors either produce the necessary software themselves or
use standard software packages (HTML, Acrobat).
When using standard products it is important that publications can be offered both on- and off-line at the same time as either on disk or as print-on-demand publications. In such a case the author often only deals with one distributor who will be responsible for the other editorial work as well as take car of the sale to the customer.
By doing this the fixed cost is minimised, because
the bookshop has not got an editorial department nor does it need
production facilities or a re-sale department. It also does not
run a separate distribution service, especially if the potential
market is covered in wide areas by a branch network with associated
on-line bookshops.
Some publications just seem to be made for this shortened
publication process, e.g. conference proceedings. The mere papers,
which normally appear under this type of publication, can be up-graded
by the results of conference discussions. In the near future Lehmanns
will run a trial test of such an email-based procedure in connection
with the Spring Conference of the DPG. Also doctoral thesis can
easily be published this way, if the legal situation is clarified.
VI. AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER ARCHIVES
The basis of the traditional bookshop is the shop
itself. The basis of the on-line sale are efficient servers with
fast connections. What is the use of the best application if the
64Kbit connection is already hopelessly busy when the third customer
tries to get into it? The availability of server capacity and
band width gives authors and publishers who have no access to
their own network infrastructure, the chance to use archives,
interfaces and even databases at a low cost. A simultaneous inclusion
of their details into the on-line database goes without saying.
VII. NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Internet technology makes co-operation with other
partners, who are not necessarily involved in the book trade,
possible. This would not be possible without the Internet. At
first, co-operation with on-line services of the print media has
to be mentioned. The traditional "reader's shops” can
still be run single-handed, but it becomes much more complicated
when go it goes on-line.
Maintenance of databases and invoicing are usually
not the main business of a newspaper or magazine. This is the
natural task of a bookshop which delivers on-line information
on the subject "Bookshop” to a daily newspaper, if possible
in the appropriate format. It is especially helpful for the user
of the literature database to find additional links to reviewed
titles. Amongst others Lehmanns co-operates with the following
services:
http://www.berlinonline.de (= on-line service of "Berliner Tageszeitung”, "TIP”, "Berliner Kurier”)
http://www.tagesspiegel.de (= on-line service of "Berliner Tagesspiegel)”
http://www.goon.de (= on-line service of Axel Springer publishing house)
http://www.med-online.de (= information service for
doctors, pharmacists and vets)
VIII. ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS AND COLLECTION
The distribution book trade has long standing experience in the field of accounting and payment systems. Therefore it offers good conditions for the use as well as for trial runs of appropriate payment models for the invoicing with regard to electronic information. If on delivery a personal identity check is possible (address details, delivery note) electronic invoicing systems have been successful for several years in the area of on- and off-line accounting. Until now this has never been a problem for the on-line bookshops. If in doubt, the order simply will not be accepted. But there is great demand on both the customer's and the bookseller's sides to come up with a safe procedure of information exchange which goes beyond the mere data coding (SSL) and can be run economically for "big” as well as for "small” amounts.
When it comes to electronic information the actual
physical delivery process has stopped. Since then it has become
obvious that there must be a way to prove and authenticate the
order both by the customer and the provider. Whether this can
be satisfactorily achieved by using passwords is another matter.
Once the order has been placed several on-line bookshops
nowadays offer the customer the possibility to follow the order
through the different stages, from the ordering to the tracking
when the goods have already left the bookshop.
IX. OUTLOOK
If one believes the general trend, the academic retail
book trade will have to face difficult times. As long as publications
in the classical sense are concerned there are little alternatives
to the retail book trade. But when it comes to the provision of
purely electronic publications the ways of distribution have to
be reassessed and newly defined.
Within the framework of Global Info (Global Electronic
and Multimedia Information Systems for Science and Technology),
a development project of bmb+f, Lehmanns is involved in the two
main areas of "Metadata” and ”Models of economic
efficiency”. Lehmanns, by the way, is the only bookshop that
takes part in this project and tries to find new ways of a useful
involvement. One aim of this project is to make academic information
directly on-line available at the desk of the end-user.
But the exciting question still remains whether or
not and how the academic retail book trade will succeed in making
a useful contribution to the "beautiful new electronic world”.
Volker Thurner
Lehmanns Fachbuchhandlung, Berlin
http://www.lob.de