\paperw8325 \margr0\margl0\ATXph0 \plain \fs20 \f1 What is thought to be the largest online bookshop in the world is doing great business on the Web. Aided by advanced Mic
rosoft server technology, Internet Book Shop (iBS) lets you research, browse and order books. The shop is based in Oxford but its Web site at \b http://www.bookshop.co.uk/\b0 is just a local phone call away. \par
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After opening in 1993, the system
went live on the Internet in 1994 and now has a dedicated, fast leased-line connection, six 133 MHz Pentium PCs and a staff of eight full-time employees. Nearly a million books from some 3,500 publishers are on its database and over 90,000 of them have
extended descriptions. Text about each book, together with bibliographic information, contents, reviews and suggested readership is supplied and regularly updated by the publishers. You \par
can search for a book by up to three key words from title, aut
hor, ISBN or publisher, or by using a structured list of some 2,500 different subjects. \par
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Type in an authorís name and in a few seconds up comes a list of publications.\par
In the siteís Author Area thereís a collection of previously unpublish
ed pieces by leading authors, each of whom has a Web page at iBS, with a biography and reviews. You can also display an extensive list of publishers, arranged in academic and general sections. These and all other features of iBS can be reached easily fro
m the menu bar, including facilities to check the status of orders youíve placed. Once youíve located a book you want, you simply add it to your shopping basket with a click. All that remains is to pay online. Your order is then delivered to your door. U
nfortunately, pending the advent of Star Trek ëbeam-me-upí technology, that still gets done the old fashioned way.
