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Questia Media, Inc., Reveals Surprising Results of College Procrastination Study
Houston, TX (January 22, 2001) - Students returning to classes this month will now have access to an extensive online collection of scholarly books with a set of research and writing tools that will enable them to write quality research papers faster and easier. Today, Houston-based Questia Media, Inc., launched the service that, for the first time, offers students worldwide, access to a large collection of quality, credible content online to research and compose papers 24/7. The service enables subscribers to read the full-text of hyperlinked sources; automatically create footnotes and bibliographies; provides instant access to an online dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia; allows users to personalize text with highlighting and margin notes; and to save papers online so they can access them from anywhere, at anytime. With the Questia service, students will be able to do research and write their papers from the comfort of their home or dorm room, eliminating the frustration of checked-out books and the hassle and expense of photocopying.
The Questia service has more than 30,000 titles in the humanities and social sciences disciplines and will grow to 50,000 titles within the next month. The company plans to further expand the service to about 250,000 titles in 2003. Users are able to search the service's entire collection for free, but a subscription fee is required to read the full-text of books and to use the set of research and writing tools.
Benefits to Students
"Students and faculty around the world have been frustrated by the fact that quality content, such as what is found in a library, is simply not available online today. Simply put, before today the Internet has not effectively helped students in their research," said Troy Williams, CEO and founder of Questia Media, Inc. "Starting today, the Questia service changes that. Most of this content has never been available online and much of it is available in print form only to a limited number of people with access to the best libraries. We believe that by providing students with twenty-four hour, unlimited access to the full-text of books, Questia will encourage students to devote more time delving into their topics, consulting a wider array of resources, and formulating and articulating a thesis or argument. The service eliminates many of the unproductive and frustrating aspects currently associated with the paper writing process."
The Genesis of Questia
The need for an extensive online collection of humanities and social sciences titles became apparent to Williams while at Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He realized that although he could search the full text of any law case online, he could not search the full text of virtually any other books. "If I needed to find a quote in a book, I needed the physical book itself, and had to spend many hours browsing it in the same manner one would have 50-years-ago. Questia is the first service to enable people to search the full-text of a large collection of books."
Upon graduating from Harvard Law School, Williams decided to pursue his idea of an online library with integrated research tools, and began the search for funding. Ten months later, Rod Canion, founder of Compaq Computer Corporation, invested the initial seed capital necessary to start Questia. Since then, Questia has secured more than $135 million in funding from investors such as OppenheimerFunds and TA Associates and negotiated agreements with more than 170 publishers, including Harvard University Press, Stanford University Press, Columbia University Press, University of Chicago Press, W.W. Norton and Company, Pearson PLC, Greenwood Publishing Group, and Perseus Books Group.
Benefits to Publishers
The Questia business model, which compensates publishers every time a page is viewed, is a promising new model for the publishing industry. Questia creates a new, incremental revenue stream for publishers by capturing the revenue they miss with single-copy sales. After the initial sale, books are checked out and photocopied by library patrons thousands of times each year with no additional revenue to the publisher. All titles, including older, out-of-print titles, which currently generate no revenue, benefit from increased visibility and usage through Questia's model, which enables an unlimited number of users to read a book simultaneously. Moreover, Questia has found a way to create this new revenue for publishers while keeping the cost to users of the service affordable.
Views from Faculty
A team of 10 professional librarians on staff have built the Questia collection using both traditional library collection development techniques and innovative methods to ensure proper representation of all major humanities and social sciences disciplines and to create the most useful collection for undergraduates possible.
University and college faculty are supportive of the Questia service and view it as a great complement to traditional campus resources and a tool that enables students to do research in the manner they find most convenient - online. "A one-stop service is something students will appreciate - Questia is a time saver and will enable students to consistently use credible information sources," says Harold Gouzoules, psychology professor at Emory University. "Students are going to say eureka!"
"Questia is a wonderful complement, extending our collection to texts that may be out-of-print or checked-out of our library," said University of Texas at Arlington librarian Tom Wilding.
From January 22- February 14, a free 48-hour trial of Questia is available by visiting www.questia.com/launch. A three-tier subscription model provides flexibility for subscribers: annually for $149.95, monthly for $19.95, and short-term (48- hours) for $14.95.
About Questia
Founded in 1998, Questia Media, Inc. created the first online service to provide unlimited access to the full text of an extensive collection of books, as well as writing tools to easily use this information. For millions of college students and researchers, the QuestiaSM service will enable them to efficiently research and compose papers at any time, from every connected corner of the world. Based in Houston with approximately 300 employees, and offices in New York and Los Angeles, Questia is delivering on the true promise of the Internet by providing access to a wealth of human knowledge. Visit www.questia.com for more information.
Contacts
Ann Brimberry
Questia Media, Inc.
(713) 358-2704 / (713) 562-8817 cell
abrimberry@questia.com
Alyssa Graf
Richards/Gravelle Public Relations
(214) 891-2971 or (M) (713) 252-1847
alyssa_graf@richards.com
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