Open AccessReference: Product Categories in the Digital Age
Author(s) -
Kathryn Earle
Publication year - 2020
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5703/1288284317139
Subject(s) - encyclopedia , division (mathematics) , product (mathematics) , computer science , resource (disambiguation) , electronic publishing , publishing , digital library , world wide web , new product development , library science , the internet , business , marketing , political science , mathematics , art , computer network , geometry , arithmetic , poetry , literature , law
In September of 2016, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc launched a new division chargedwith creating digital resources for the academic library market. A number of these haveReference at their core. This paper outlines in brief the logic for creating the newdivision and the role of Reference within the resources. It then summarizes research wehave undertaken since the division’s inception to establish how ‘product categories’(ie, encyclopedias, monographs, images etc) are valued by academics and librarians, theaim of which is to create products that are user-focused. And finally this paperprovides a brief case study of our most mature resource, The Berg Fashion Library, toascertain how actual usage compares with how product categories are rated in theresearch.