Questia reveals development of revolutionary online research service

Citation

(2000), "Questia reveals development of revolutionary online research service", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 28 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilds.2000.12228dab.005

Questia reveals development of revolutionary online research service

Questia reveals development of revolutionary online research service

Keywords Research, Online retrieval, Document supply

Questia Media, Inc., a new media venture driven by an extraordinary team of experienced leaders and visionaries, recently revealed the development of a revolutionary online research service that will deliver on the true promise of the Internet by providing access to the wealth of human knowledge. Through ongoing funding projected to total $210 million during this year and next, Questia is building the first online service to provide unlimited access to the full-text of hundreds of thousands of books, journals and periodicals, as well as tools to easily use this information. For millions of college students, the QuestiaSM service will enable them to research and compose their papers at any time, from every connected corner of the world.

Similar to a traditional library model, emerging Internet-based library and electronic book services are limited by the actual number of copyrighted books they purchase – one copy of a book can only be accessed by one person at a time. In contrast, Questia will offer a complete research service with rights secured directly from publishers so that an unlimited number of people may access a given book at a given time.

Questia expects to have a robust 50,000 volumes digitised in early 2001 and is projected to have over 250,000 within three years – that is greater than the number of volumes in over 80 percent of all academic libraries in the USA. The QuestiaSM service will be live at www.questia.com in early 2001, with at least 50,000 of the most valued volumes in the liberal arts from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (not including textbooks). This initial online collection will offer access to a range of titles that are today – for all practical purposes – out of reach of many students. With a monthly subscription fee and an existing Internet connection, students will be able to search the online collection, research related references, view the actual pages of individual titles, and compose and save their papers online.

For publishers, Questia represents a tremendous opportunity to increase revenues. Questia has developed a way for publishers to receive revenue each time a student accesses even a single page of a title. This has never been possible before. Thus, older titles and out-of-print books that have been read and studied thousands of times over the years in libraries (yet have not generated new income) will now produce new revenues and become more valuable assets to publishers.

For librarians and professors, Questia offers a new valuable tool that facilitates their goal of helping students to find the right information effectively and efficiently. The Questia search function alone – to be offered to all at no charge – allows librarians or academics to find the exact volumes and pages that can answer a student's question. Because the research process is more efficient and less cumbersome, it will mean fewer dead-end trips to the stacks, thus allowing more time for the mentoring and thoughtful interaction that actually foster a love of discovery and learning.

Information can be found at www.questia.com or by contacting John Sweney, Brookwoods Media Group. Tel: +1 713 934 0529; E-mail: john.sweney@brookwoods.com

Source: Press release