Although many publishers offer subscribers the ability to renew or subscribe on their web sites, virtually none of these subscription efforts are part of a truly integrated Internet-based system. In fact, most publishers require subscribers to complete a brand new subscription application form, regardless of whether they are new subscribers or existing subscribers renewing their subscriptions.

To avoid duplication, the resulting renewals and new applications generally will have to be looked up and processed in an off-line system. This means that all the information the subscriber has already entered, will have to be re-keyed by the publisher's circulation staff! This redundant process not only costs money, time and resources, it invariably introduces errors in the data.

In contrast, in a truly Internet-based subscription management system, renewals and subscription requests are entered directly into the database by the subscriber and by the publisher's circulation staff, using a web-browser. This eliminates not only the need for look-ups and off-line processing, but also reduces data entry errors and circulation staff workload.

webCirc, available as a hosted service, is a proven, multi-lingual capable system, currently available in English, French and Dutch. However, it is ready to serve both publishers' staff and subscribers in almost any western language, if required.

For more detailed information on the two main components of the system, the subscriber interface, referred to in these pages as the Front-end, and the publisher's circulation management tools, referred to as the Back-end, click the appropriate menu buttons or the appropriate hotlinks.