GENfair and Shop@ssistant: Providing access to local & family history resources
| Date | 01 March 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040762 |
| Pages | 44-47 |
| Published date | 01 March 2000 |
| Author | Paul Sandford |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
GENfair and
Shop@ssistant:
Providing access to
local & family history
resources
by Paul Sandford, Researcher at LITC,
South Bank University
This article describes how affordable
e-commerce solutions have increased access
to local and family history publications
produced through special interest groups. It
points the way to future provision in Local
Studies libraries for secure ordering facilities
for public use, and explores some of the
issues surrounding such provision.
Background
The GENfair service, described as 'The Online
Family History Fair and Genealogy Bookstore', is
found at [http:/www.genfair.co.uk/]. The service
was effectively launched with 10 participating
societies in January 1999 and promoted throughout
the family history community by Mike Spathaky.
By May 2000, it had grown to include over 60
organisations, including suppliers of goods and
services for family history, and covers over 9000
items.
GENfair aims to be a hub site for family and
local history, with links to participants own sites,
but is also open to the closely related local history
community. For each participating organisation, a
'stand' comprising web pages is constructed,
including Information and Content pages. All this
is provided for a modest once-only fee of
£25,
with
no other charges for web space or design. Apart
from providing a shop window for publications,
GENfair also can provide optionally for the collec-
tion of
subscriptions.
Over 40% of GENfair
customers are from outside the EC. A view of the
front page of GENfair, showing the main areas of
the site, is shown in Figure 1.
How GENfair works - customer
side
As expected in e-commerce, a "virtual shopping
basket" is provided for the customer. Items are
selected from any stall and added to the basket. A
"review basket" function enables visitors to see
contents, remove items, and change quantities
before the checkout. Here the transaction is
completed with delivery details, and shipping
charges (computed for the destination country
from a Royal Mail rates database). Prices can be
displayed in alternative currencies, to facilitate
purchase decisions.
According to the European Directive on Distance
Selling, shoppers must see the terms and condi-
tions of
sale
before ordering, i.e. before proceeding
to checkout. The Terms and Conditions of Sale
are set out in full. They cover prices, ordering,
payment and the dispatch of goods and services.
They also describe the GENfair commitment to
provide goods and services of merchantable
quality and to refund payment if those goods or
services are faulty or not what was ordered. Advice
on what to do if an item is faulty or doesn't arrive
in a reasonable time is given. They also describe
how personal information and credit card details
are protected. There is a statement that the terms
do not affect statutory rights under English law.
Finally GENfair links to a secure system for the
capturing of credit card details. On completion of
the online form, a prompt remind users to exit the
secure site by closing the transaction window or
returning to the GENfair site.
How GENfair works - supplier
side
For the provider of goods and services, GENfair
offers a simple way of providing product details to
the service administrator via a pro-forma Excel
spreadsheet on a floppy disk or downloadable from
the site. A typed list option is available, which may
however attract an additional administrative
charge. The data required includes:
• Title or Name
• Short Description (including Subtitle,
Author, Volume)
44
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VINE 120
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