Introduction
MCB University Press is one of the leading international
publishers of academic and professional titles in the field of
management and engineering. Dedicated to providing the highest
standards of quality for its products and services, the
company has attained a long-standing reputation for excellence
and innovation.
Currently, well over 100 journals are
published in various management fields and subject niches, as
well as a substantial portfolio of applied science and
technology titles. In recent years MCB University Press has
actively embraced the opportunities made available by the
electronic publishing revolution. The majority of journals now
enjoy the benefits of both printed and electronic formats
(most including the advantages of multi-user networking). A
range of management, computer science and civil engineering
databases also presents customers with a vast breadth and
depth of knowledge, combined with powerful retrieval software
and inherent cost-efficiencies.
Mission
MCB University Press is in the business of providing the best
and latest information, knowledge and intelligence for its
customers. It adds value by conceiving, creating, capturing,
transforming, archiving, searching, retrieving, disseminating,
applying and distributing its products and services. It
facilitates the information flow within a global academic,
corporate and professional network. It serves international
researchers, companies, practitioners and managers, mainly
through their information providers such as librarians, but
also direct.
Committed to furthering the body of
knowledge by the widespread dissemination of academic and
professional research, MCB University Press actively works to
support and extend its co-operative network of authors and
editors. This is especially facilitated through its Literati
Club, now a global network and Internet resource.
History
and ownership
Based in Bradford, UK, MCB University Press is a privately
owned company. It was founded in 1967 by a group of senior
Business School academics who were dissatisfied with the
publishing outlets available internationally for authors.
Academics continue to be actively involved in the business at
both strategic and operational levels. Accordingly, MCB
University Press understands the rationale for academic and
professional research and its application. It also shares the
perceptions and processes of quality assurance for authors and
readers.
Today MCB University Press is a truly
international organization. It collates the best management
material from its extensive network of subject experts and
centres of excellence throughout the world. Its editorial
network, customer base and distribution channels are similarly
global in nature. In recent years this has been heightened
through the company's enthusiastic embrace of Internet media
and technology.
MCB University Press has representative
offices in North America, South America, South East Asia and
Japan.
MCB University Press has representative
offices in Malaysia, Japan and North America
Rationale
MCB University Press is an independent publisher. It is not
affiliated to, nor does it receive any financial support from,
any institution. It is a niche publisher of high quality
academic research and applied titles. The prices charged
guarantee a commitment to publish independent, high value
resources to its customers and readers. All articles published
by MCB University Press are independent and free from
commercial bias.
The company is dedicated to providing
value for money products and services which maximise their use
within the institutions and companies which have purchased
them. This is exemplified year on year through its continuing
enhancements and innovations.
Journal publishing
The highest quality international research is delivered via
print and electronic media.
MCB University Press is committed to
providing high quality, value for money products and services
in both traditional and new formats, while continually
exploring, developing and exploiting new technologies.
World-class journals are currently published in the following
fields:
- Economics
- Education
- Finance
- General management
- Health and environment
- Human resource management
- Information management
- Library and information services
- Logistics and purchasing
- Marketing
- Materials science and technology
- Police management and policies
- Production management and engineering
- Property management
- Quality management
- Training and development
The quality and prestige of the journals
are sustained through expert editorial control and advisory
boards, combined with rigorous refereeing procedures. MCB
University Press is committed to continuous improvement in the
quality of its products and services.
MCB University Press was one of the
first publishers globally to incorporate the following
electronic elements within many of its journals:
- Internet publishing and archives
- Electronic access to wider literature
- Internet conferencing
- Multi-user networking
- E-mail notification of publication
These form an integral part of the
subscription and provide a comprehensive media environment.
Together, these developments have made the company's journals
invaluable for dynamic information retrieval and awareness and
maximised their value to subscribers.
Media considerations
MCB University Press journals are provided in paper format
together with electronic access in most cases, to allow the
maximum exploitation of each subscription. In this way,
familiar format is combined with flexibility, reliability and
availability for the widest possible audience. Cost per use
and cost per article are therefore reduced to a level
comparable with document delivery.
It is MCB University Press's intention
that the subscription package should not only continue to
deliver the highest quality of content, but also ensure that
the media specifications, search functionality, licensing
entitlements and customer support meet the widest range of
demands made by librarians and library users alike.
Typically, an MCB University Press
journal will include delivery through print and the Internet.
Print
The printed journal issue remains the easiest way to keep in
touch with new developments in the subject area covered by a
journal.
Internet publishing
The Internet sites of each journal are frequently updated,
ensuring access to current content in advance of the printed
version. A free email alert service is available that notifies
users when new material in their subject interest area is
published.
Articles may be viewed either on an
"issue" basis or retrieved by author, subject or
posting date.
Internet archive
Articles published in earlier volumes of an individual journal
remain valuable only as long as they are accessible. The
Internet archive contains the full text of articles published
since 1994 plus abstracts of articles back to 1989. Document
delivery of the full text of articles whose abstracts appear
in the archive are included in the purchase price. (Some newer
journals naturally have a shorter archive.)
The Benefits of
electronic access.
Benefits to the librarian:
- maximise the cost of your
subscriptions by easy dissemination of information around
your organization
- nothing more to pay for the
electronic service-it's all part of the subscription
- free networking ensures the service
is fully exploited because users don't have to leave their
workstations to access the system
- you will never have to say "no,
not available, you'll have to wait"-in a few seconds
an exact copy of the article including charts, diagrams,
etc. can be downloaded and printed
- no more wasted time copying lengthy
articles
- no more precious tattered copies of
papers having to make their tortuous way round all the
organization
- access to content available through a
range of channels, including: Blackwells
Navigator, Swetsnet, EbscoHost,
Information Quest, Emerald
Intelligence + Fulltext via OCLC's
Electronic Collections Online.
Benefits to the users:
- users can find anything published in
the journal on any topic in minutes rather than hours-and
know that no stone has been left unturned
- instant access to a whole new world
of business and management knowledge to give users the
leading edge
- a search precision not available in
any other database
- organizing literature searches and
retrievals without specialist training, comprehensive
on-screen help is available for those who seek guidance
- exploiting the enormous amount of
material contained in this growing database-to ensure your
users always have access to information to help develop
winning business strategies and improve operational
effectiveness
- search the full text of all the
articles by keyword
- search for authors and citations
- identify case studies, literature
reviews and six other categories of article
- identify articles reviewed as
particularly readable, highly original, or having specific
applications for practitioners and researchers
- print articles exactly as they appear
in print.
Benefits of on-line Internet access:
- easy initial access-register once and
have access to all the journals you subscribe to
- no passwords to remember-in most
cases, once registered all users have instant access
across their Internet domain without the use of further
passwords
- instant access - users can quickly
and easily complete complex searches to obtain the
specific information they require.
In addition, as a result of
price-inclusive electronic delivery, authors may be assured
that their articles enjoy widespread dissemination throughout
subscribing organizations.
Electronic
Databases
MCB University Press produces the following electronic
databases:
Emerald
Intelligence + Fulltext
Fulltext of MCB journals is delivered via the Emerald
Intelligence + Fulltext. This is an electronic database of
articles dating back to 1994 and an abstract library, with
rapid document delivery, dating back to 1989. Emerald
Intelligence + Fulltext comprises 10 subject 'databases' which
may be purchased individually:
- Human
Resources
- Operations,
Production & Economics
- Marketing
- General
Management
- Training
& Education
- Library
& Information Services
- Property
- Information
Management
- Engineering
- Quality.
Armed with powerful retrieval software
and unrivalled full-text delivery, Emerald Intelligence +
Fulltext allows you to enhance your ability to support
management projects, research for articles, prepare for
meetings and a raft of other applications. It also provides
excellent value for money and a substantial cost saving to the
individual journals on the coverage list.
Anbar
Electronic Intelligence
Anbar International Management Database gives practitioners
and scholars everywhere in the world immediate access to both
the latest and the most significant thinking, practice and
solutions from the entire management field. The service
provides an international library of categorised,
quality-assessed journal article summaries (abstracts), drawn
from over 400 of the accredited, top management journals. The
archive of abstracts contains more than 85,000 records from
articles going back to 1989. The service now includes the
ability to search an additional 500,000 bibliographic records
from over 1200 other management journals included in the
International Directory of Periodical Contents in Management.
Access to the full-text article is always available via our
document supply service from our partner, The British Library.
Anbar Management Intelligence comprises
the following databases:
Anbar's International
Civil Engineering Abstracts provides rapid access to over
65,000 articles drawn from more than 150 of the world's best
civil engineering journals. Bibliographic information from the
250 additional journals in the International Directory of
Periodical Contents in Computing is also included.
Anbar Computer
Abstracts International Database provides rapid access to
over 55,000 articles drawn from more than 200 of the world's
best computing journals. Bibliographic information from the 50
additional journals in the International Directory of
Periodical Contents in Civil Engineering is also included.
Trials
and samples
Free trials are available via the Internet for all on-line
journals and databases.
Sample copies of journals are also
available. Up to five hard copy journals may be requested at
any one time.
Cost considerations
Maximising Value for Money: Networking and Information
Retrieval
MCB takes a simple approach to licensing that encourages the
widest possible use of all its products, whether individual
journals and databases, and doesn�t limit the number of
users. Access can be provided across the whole of the
subscribing organization�s domain within a single country -
by domain name, IP address or by username and password. We
also cater for remote users who are bona fide members of the
subscribing organization, wherever they may be based.
Consortia purchasing
The fact that many journals are available in electronic
format, combined with multi-user networking capacity, is
proving particularly attractive to library consortia.
We are delighted to discuss the
provision of consortial arrangements by helping libraries to
maximise the value of their holdings with the most
cost-efficient purchasing solution. View Emeraldplus,
the licence agreement which aims to fully support and conform
to the Principles for Licensing Electronic Resources. For
further details, please contact:
Shelly Grimshaw on sgrimshaw@mcb.co.uk,
Claire Ginn (North America) on claire.ginn@mcb-usa.com
Technical and
service concerns
Search engines: ease of use and functionality
From January 1998, MCB University Press is using the RTIS Opti-ware
bibliographical search engine software to provide all the
database information. This software incorporates Adobe Acrobat
image viewing software to read PDFs within certain databases.
The RTIS Opti-ware toolset supports an
entire range of features for any application requiring
document searching, retrieval and display. The screens and
functions are specifically designed for ease of use and search
power.
The sophisticated search techniques
allow articles to be retrieved by:
- author
- journal
- title
- subject keywords
- type of material (e.g. literature
review)
- quality indicators.
Technical support
MCB University Press provides comprehensive technical support
for its customers. In addition to the extensive and
user-friendly "on screen" help function which is
provided with all electronic products, there is a Technical
Helpdesk supporting subscriber access via MCB Internet sites:
The Customer Helpdesk supports the
following software:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 (and
higher)
- Netscape 3.01 (and higher)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0.
When using MCB Internet resources to
access your journals, full support is offered in conjunction
with:
- Domain name servers (DNS)
- Class A,B and C IP address ranges
- Downloading relevant software (such
as Acrobat Reader, Internet Explorer).
All the software is year 2000-compliant.
LAN/CWIS networking is supported in
accordance with the licence entitlements covered in the
subscription fee (further details available on individual
requests). MCB University Press supports mainly NT and Novell
servers but encourages other users with individual
requirements to approach us on a one-to-one basis for
support..
Internet
resources
MCB University Press supports the information needs of
customers, agents, authors, and editors via a range of
comprehensive Internet resources. The MCB Web site includes:
- full and detailed on-line product
information
- free trials to journals and databases
- on-line subscriber access to journal
content
- e-mail article alerting services
- customer services
- despatch details
- on-line ordering
- Library Link Forum - on-line
resources and community for librarians
- Literati Club - on-line resources and
community for authors
MCB's Internet resources provide an
interactive and information-rich focal point for management
research and all aspects of publishing in the electronic age.
Library
Link
Librarians benefit from complementary membership to Library
Link the widely acclaimed global network, now on-line and in
its eighth year of operation. Library Link provides librarians
with comprehensive resources, information on consortia
developments and impacts, free on-line access to information
management journals, and discussion forums on a wide range of
topics.
Literati
Club
MCB's Literati Club provides authors and editors with an
outstanding global network. Membership includes access to the
Literati Web site (containing author support, regular
features, information on how to get published, award-winning
papers, research registers, and a range of articles on
publishing in the "electronic age"). The Literati
Club also honours its members at a prestigious annual awards
ceremony.
Our present and
future developments
MCB University Press is committed to embracing the electronic
publishing revolution with enthusiasm. The company intends to
build on its established Electronic Publishing Initiatives: to
continue to encompass publishing via the Internet. It will
keep abreast of changing technologies, and will lead the
market in the delivery of the benefits now emerging as quickly
as possible - but not at the expense of crafting the future
complementary role of paper-based publishing as well.
MCB University Press will also continue
to actively support the needs of customers, suppliers, authors
and editors. This will be achieved through its commitment to
quality of service and products together with the continued
development of added-value Internet resources.
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