Making A Reference Book Come Alive:
The GIS World SourceCD

GIS World is the premier provider of information about Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including products, services, companies and geographic data. Founded in 1988, GIS World produces two monthly magazines and a variety of reference books for the GIS community. In response to client demand, GIS World has adopted proven technologies that improve information delivery.

THE CHALLENGE

The annual GIS World Sourcebook is a powerful reference source for the industry. The 1995 Sourcebook listed over 1,200 companies, products and data sources with a variety of articles and advertising. While the information was very useful and not easily found elsewhere, accessing the information was not always easy. For example, all the products were listed across six pages, with 198 columns of attributes ranging from software type to graphic output format. Each page spread out over 23 inches to hold all of the columns. This made finding products challenging and time consuming.

THE CD-ROM SOLUTION

GIS World Vice-President/Publisher Donald F. Hemenway Jr., realized the potential of CD-ROM to GIS users, including faster access, complex search capability, information sharing on a local area network and electronic copy and transfer capabilities (fax, print, etc.). Working with OPTIMUS Corporation, the SourceCD (the logical name for the Sourcebook on CD) was designed and completed on schedule. The added benefits easily justified the conversion from paper to CD-ROM.

In the past, GIS World sold about 2,000 Sourcebooks annually. Due to the inexpensive cost of CD production, 45,000 GIS World SourceCDs were produced, enabling GIS World to send a CD to each subscriber of GIS World's magazines. The SourceCD, if unregistered, provides access to vendor displays and a demonstration of the powerful search capabilities. The user can easily register for full access to the SourceCD by calling GIS World. The access security developed by OPTIMUS virtually eliminates non-authorized use. While the added exposure and vastly improved searching capabilities were a significant advantage, the advertising potential made the conversion from paper to CD-ROM a must. Instead of a simple page in a book, the advertisers can supply a multimedia presentation linked directly to their offerings. When the user is looking at a company, product or service, they can also see a multimedia demonstration - something no paper version can match. Advertisers can also supply demonstrations of their products and even complete products.

THE COST

GIS World recovered most of their initial expense with subscriptions and advertising for the first release of the GIS World SourceCD. Future versions will require a minimal expense for production. The complete development and production cost will be recovered by the second release. Based on the success of the initial CD, GIS World is evaluating plans to distribute the SourceCD on a biannual or quarterly basis.

GIS World is the publisher of GIS WORLD - The World's leading Geographic Information Systems Publication and Business Geographics - The Geographic Technology Magazine for the Business Community.