HIT->Books in print online

[Laura Richards <LERich7@AOL.COM>]

Thanks to the many of you who responded to my request for information about
BIP online.  It is available online through Dialog.  Dialog provides access
to more than 400 databases covering every imaginable subject.  Dialog is
owned by the Knight-Ridder company.  You can request information about Dialog
by calling 1-800-334-2564  or you may write for information at the following
address:

Knight-Ridder Information
1525 Wilson Blvd, Suite 650
Arlington, VA  22209

For school librarians, there are 2 ways to gain access to Dialog: (1) for
reference and (2) for reference and student use.  If the service is used only
by the professional staff (i.e., it's not available to students), you pay
nearly a $300 startup fee, $75 annually, $6/hr or $12/hr telecommunications
fee, a connection fee which depends on the database you access ($30/hr for
Books in print), and $1.65 for every record you read or download.  This is
pretty expensive.

If students are to be given access to Dialog, you can sign up for Dialog's
Classroom Instruction Program (CIP).  This program includes the following:
- Has no minimum-usage, start-up or subscription fees
- provides up to 10 free passwords
- is available at the low connect charge of $0.25/min ($15/hr).  In the U.S.,
a small telecommunication charge of $3per hour for internet users and $6 per
hour for other networks.

Write Knight-Ridder at the above address for more information on CIP.  To
sign up for CIP, you need to fill out their CIP Service Agreement.

I found out from LM_NETTERs that some of you give instruction to students
about how to do an online search with Dialog.  Some schools even require that
students use Dialog for some of their research projects.  Most said that the
monthly costs were reasonable.  However, there were a couple of you who felt
that access to Dialog was pretty expensive.

Some of the databases available through Dialog are:
Books in print, Eric, Bowker Biographical Dictionary, Life Science
Collection, Medline, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Quotations database, Times
publications, Pollution abstracts, Americal Library Directory, Book review
index, British books in print, Consumer Reports, Energy and Science
Technology, LC MARC-Books, and Occupational safety & health.

Hope this is helpful!  Again, thanks to those of you who responded to my
query.

Laura Richards
Central School
620 Greenwood
Glencoe, IL  60022
LERich7@aol.com