Blackwell Reference Online

FAQs

What is Blackwell Reference Online?
Blackwell Reference Online is a vast new online library giving instant access to the most authoritative and up-to-date scholarship across the humanities and social sciences. With almost 300 reference volumes, Blackwell Reference Online is the largest academic reference collection of its kind available online from a single publisher.

What titles are included in Blackwell Reference Online
Click here for a full listing of titles available.

What user functionality is available in Blackwell Reference Online?
Access to Blackwell Reference Online is provided on a specially designed online reference platform designed to give you the very best in functionality:

• Sophisticated search options and innovative classification – by subject, person, period, key topic and place – enables users to find information quickly and easily.
• Quick search on every page allows you to search individual titles or the whole database.
• Frequent illustrations enhance and illuminate the content.
• All bibliographic references are all OpenURL compliant to allow mediated linking between chapter bibliographies and references with your library services.

To go on a guided tour of Blackwell Reference Online, click here. 

What library services does Blackwell Reference Online support?
Blackwell Reference Online offers you the full range of library services to enable its seamless integration into your library:

• Institutional usage reports compliant with the COUNTER Code of Practice for Books and Reference Works and ICOLC stands are provided.
• Unlimited access through IP recognition, username/password, referring URL and Athens.
• MARC records available to download
• DOIs at book and chapter/entry level ensure permanent URLs for easy upload into your library’s OPAC system
• OpenURL technology is supported.
• You can also add your own institutional branding to the site

How can I buy Blackwell Reference Online?
Blackwell Reference Online is available to institutions as a one-time purchase giving your library unlimited access to the resource. Institutions may buy either the whole collection or just those subject areas which are relevant to their institution. The following subject collections are available for purchase:

• Business & Economics
• History
• Language & Linguistics
• Literature & Cultural Studies
• Philosophy & Religion
• Sociology & Psychology

More information is available at Subscriber Services.

How much is Blackwell Reference Online?
Pricing is based on the size of your institution (FTE). For pricing please contact your usual Blackwell Publishing Account Manager or email libraryinfo@blackwellpublishing.com

Will I be able to buy Blackwell Reference Online via my local consortium?
Blackwell Reference Online will be offered to all the main library consortia. Please contact your local consortium to find if they are offering Blackwell Reference Online.

Can we have a trial of Blackwell Reference Online?
Yes, we can arrange a 60 day trial for you. To request a trial, click here.

How is Blackwell Reference Online updated?
Each year Blackwell will add all of its new reference titles to Blackwell Reference Online. You will be able to add these new titles and editions to your collection for a fee. During 2007 there will be no charge for these additions. 

Is the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology included in Blackwell Reference Online?
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology shares the same platform as Blackwell Reference Online but is not included in the collection. It is available both as a one-off purchase and on subscription. For more information on how to order the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, then click here.

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

What are the terms of the license?
We use the standard Blackwell license that you can read here.

How is access controlled?
The standard options are available including IP address recognition, ATHENS, referring URL, and username and password for remote users.  If you require further options please contact Blackwell.
 
How do users gain access to the full text of articles?
Once the user is authenticated they will have immediate access to the full text of all articles

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

Are usage statistics provided?
Yes, when you purchase Blackwell Reference Online, 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 compliant.

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

What do I keep if I decide in the future to cancel access to Blackwell Reference Online?
If in the unlikely event you do wish to cancel your access, you can request a version for local hosting complete with all updates supplied to date.

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

What are the technical standards that Blackwell Reference Online conforms to?
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
   • 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.

What should you do if you still can not access the site or have technical difficulties which your web administrator or our FAQ’s have not satisfactorily answered?
Refer to this link which will answer more questions and allow you to raise a call with our support team.

Who should be the point of contact with with Wiley-Blackwell regarding set up?
Please follow this link during normal office hours (9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays) on issues relating to the functioning of the website where functionality cannot be restored by your own Trusts’ webservices support.