There has been much discussion on the Internet the last few
days about BNA's decision to cease publication of the
Environment Reporter's state laws and regulations in print,
and to offer that information only in CD format.
The reason for the decision, the manner in which it is being
implemented, and the offer BNA is making to ease the
transition have been communicated to subscribers in a letter
mailed April 29th. Unfortunately, the Postal Service
mishandled the mailing, delaying its delivery. As a result,
many subscribers learned of the decision through sources
outside BNA. Misinformation has been communicated,
causing confusion and concern.
BNA hopes the following will address the questions and
concerns that have been expressed.
The decision
Effective July 1, BNA will stop publishing the printed
version of the state material from Environment Reporter.
The federal material will continue to be published both in
print and on CD. Decisions will continue in print and also
will be available on CD in the near future. The state
material will be available only in CD format. This will
give customers the option to mix any combination of the
print product with state information on CD, and, for the
first time, the option to purchase any single state or
combination of states.
Why?
After almost 24 years of publishing a quality product in
print, BNA concluded that the rapidly increasing pace,
volume, and complexity of state environmental regulation has
made it impossible to publish a timely and comprehensive
product that meets the standard of quality our customers
expect. Increasingly, our subscribers have been demanding
relief from the burden of filing the number of pages issued
and to have the option to buy only the state(s) needed. The
CD format provides for both, and frees us from the space and
time constraints of print publishing. We are now able to
expand our scope of coverage and provide information never
included in the print, such as state regional information.
In fact, we are now able to provide complete coverage of
each state's environmental regulations. When it became
clear that the CD format allowed us to respond to our
subscribers' needs and wishes, the decision to stop
publishing in print became easier.
Why now?
We made the decision to discontinue the state print version
as of July 1 for a couple of reasons. First, in July, all
50 states will be available on CD for the first time.
Second, providing and maintaining the expanded state
coverage subscribers have indicated they need would require
publication of 4,000-5,000 pages every other week. The
immense storage capacity of CD offered us the opportunity to
expand our coverage and, at the same time, eliminate filing
and storage problems.
Cost?
The fact is that CD publishing is not inexpensive. The
amount of editorial research and technological investment to
prepare and maintain a product for this format is extensive,
particularly with a product as large and complex as the
Environment Reporter. The design and preparation of the
product with extensive coding to give it its unique research
functionality required the addition of more than 15
permanent professional staff members in the Editorial
Department alone. To provide the ability to link between
new amendments and codified material requires significant
ongoing editorial expertise. Moreover, supporting a CD
product requires a network of technical, legal, and
information professional not needed for print products. BNA
offers all subscribers training, technical, and substantive
support at no additional charge. In fact, the price of
BNA's Environment Library on CD now accurately reflects the
real costs of producing and maintaining it, and its real
value to the end user.
Couldn't you give us more notice?
Frankly, the decision was not made final until the first
quarter of 1994, when it was certain that we would have a
complete alternative product to offer. Also, we wanted to
ensure that we had an adequate supply of new,
state-of-the-art CD drives to offer subscribers. These
drives have just delivered to BNA. And, most importantly,
we wanted to be sure we were fully prepared to provide
adequate training and support during the transition.
BNA has spent decades building a relationship with its
customers that is based on quality, service, and trust. We
will continue to deliver the quality and value our
subscribers have come to expect.
Sally Coulton
Senior Product Manager
Environment Information Services
BNA
scoulton@bna.com
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