Salem's Bold New Initiative

Aiming to bridge the gap between professional and popular needs, Salem Press reference sets have long been recognized in the library community for their authoritative content and affordability. Starting this fall, the publisher will make some significant changes in the way it sells its content. It all starts with the late November release of the fourth edition of Salem's Magill's Medical Guide (ISBN 978-1-58765-384-1. $395). At 3500 pages, the five-volume set covers in an A-to-Z format a variety of health-related areas, including such current topics as Avian influenza, the worrisome effects of Ambien, and new treatments for breast cancer.

But it isn't the extensive revision of the old set that makes this launch unlike any other in Salem's history. It is its purchase model: this edition includes a full three-year subscription to the electronic version of the set. In other words, the online version, which includes the entire content of the print set with added search and browsing capabilities, will be available only to the purchasers of the set—and it will be available at no extra charge. What's more, Salem will continue adding specialty health reference sets to its "health library" (including the forthcoming Cancer and Mental Health & Disorders titles), and the online database will grow accordingly.

Although reference publishers have been advised in recent years to stay away from bundling formats, Peter Tobey, Salem's VP of Sales and Marketing, says that the prepub interest in this new product has been unparalleled. Both the set and the database include over 1000 articles, 400 illustrations, 650 sidebars and tables, and countless other features that add to the product's value as a research tool.