A Step-by-Step, SeamlessOnline Integration
Other titles from Thieme International include “subspecialty” books in areas, such as neurosurgery, radiology and orthopedics. Thieme also publishes review journals that are offered in print and online. These include such reviews as “Seminars in Liver Disease” and “Seminars in Neurology.”
Currently, Thieme is using the Internet and its Web site to convert its journal subscribers from print to online, Scanlan says. “In fact, we are moving all customers to a combination of print and online, or online only. We are encouraging customers to do this by offering them packages of all of our online journals based on their existing business with us. They don’t have to pay a lot more to receive all of our titles,” he explains. “The increased online access means they are much less likely to cancel subscriptions in the future.”
Thieme also uses the Internet to distribute its online chemistry products, and it offers an online database called “Science of Synthesis,” used by synthetic chemists to research chemical uses and reactions, says Scanlan.
A Didactic Concept
“We have a big emphasis on quality—and not just concerning paper and printing,” says Scanlan. For example, “We use Medline, a [third-party] journal citation database that contains millions of entries. Using customized production software in conjunction with Medline, we can quickly fact-check references by authors to ensure accuracy. …
“We also remain aware that … how a visitor to our site receives the information is important. So, we work hard on a didactic concept and integrated approach in offering online books, “ Scanlan says.
This approach serves up slices of content a student must complete before moving on to the next “slice.” The step-by-step approach focuses on building a student’s understanding of the subject matter, he says. Clinical relevance plays a key role, and brief explanations on clinical situations are presented.
