Barcelona, the beautiful city of arte moderne and Gaudi, was quite the hot spot to be this July! So was the demonstration of the PEP CD-ROM at the International Psychoanalytical Congress in Barcelona, held July 25 through August 1, 1997. The CD was shown at its best — as a modern research tool that revolutionizes psychoanalytic research and scholarship. This user-friendly CD-ROM is positioned to help psychoanalysis keep pace with the information explosion of the 1990s and to take psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic research into the next millennium.
PEP (for Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing) is a joint partnership of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the British Psychoanalytic Society. The partnership has developed and produced this CD-ROM to include The Journal of the Americal Psychoanalytic Association, Contemporary Psychoanalysis, The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, The International Review of Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Quarterly, and Psychoanalytic Study of the Child.
Four of the PEP directors/developers/producers (Peter Fonagy, Nadine Levinson, Martin Miller, and David Tuckett) were in Barcelona throughout the entire congress, eagerly and enthusiastically demonstrating the disk's amazing features. The directors demonstrated the disk's capabilities in whatever language was required: Spanish, German, Italian, French, even a little Korean. I am sure that much of the excitement the PEP demo desk was created by the infectious enthusiasm of the directors for this marvelous product.
Large, attractive color posters with an enlarged picture of the PEP CD-ROM drew attention to our stand. There was a constant flurry of activity around the demo desk. The projector was set up so that the demonstrator sat at a computer facing a curious inquirer. The computer screen was projected on a large screen behind the demonstrator. Often, groups ten deep would congregate and watch along on the big screen.
All of the many features which make the PEP CD-ROM so special and user-friendly were demonstrated, including a step-by-step procedure for an unlimited number of possible searches. These include, but are not limited to, finding author, title, topic, and year. The PEP CD can also be used for simple browsing as if in a library. Demonstrating this feature made use of the CD's table of contents and table of authors. The demonstrators also showed off special features, such as highlighting, book-marking, and adding personalized notes. A number of “beta users” (those who had tried out the CD while it was still in development) inquired about a printing bug, and Miller was able to show them the solution that is included in the final production disk.
These demonstrations were very successful and often led to immediate sales. The PEP CD-ROM team received praise and congratulations from most visitors to the demo desk, including some who were already using the beta disk.
The intellectual climate of the congress stimulated many to come to the PEP desk immediately, wanting to know about references to ideas they picked up at one of the plenary talks or small discussion groups. The demonstrators ran many different types of personalized searches. While sometimes they thought they were demonstrating how to operate the disk, they found themselves brainstorming on the beginnings of a new creative paper or further refining an existing concept.
Several presenters and discussants came to the desk to say that they had been able to use information from the PEP-CD to enhance their literature review in preparation for the congress. One moderator stated he had found 83 articles for a particular topic, one which the main presenter had claimed to be “sparsely discussed in the literature.” These “rediscovered” papers proved very helpful to the presenter, whose paper was in development. Some analysts who devote much time to teaching told the PEP CD-ROM team how their institute curricula and personal reading lists were being updated and enriched by use of the CD. The demonstrators were even able to reassure several technophobes about the user-friendly nature of the CD.
Here are some of the comments heard at the PEP CD-ROM demo desk:
“I would not go anywhere without my PEP CD.”
“PEP is the greatest contribution to psychoanalytic scholarship since the Standard Edition.”
“PEP-CD is magical.”
“My God, a complete library at my fingertips!”
As a direct reflection of this enthusiasm, the PEP team sold more than 50 disks at full price, many of which were distributed at the meeting. Droves of people who did not buy at that moment were able to take away a brochure that can also serve as a “Getting Started”/help manual.
While all this was going on, the two other PEP directors, Judy Schachter and Paul Mosher, were not able to attend the Barcelona meeting. They were still working hard to assure delivery as soon as possible on the Mac beta version. The only consistent dissatisfaction expressed at the demo desk was from Macintosh customers, who were understandably frustrated about waiting for the Mac version. The demonstrators were happy to be able to assure these people that a Mac version was being produced, and they were able to give a tentative delivery date. The Mac beta release was scheduled for delivery by mid-October.
The delay was caused by the decision of the manufacturer of the software, Folio View, not to release Folio View 4.0 for the Mac. The PEP board has continued to evaluate a number of options for Mac users. The board's research revealed that only a small minority of Mac
Nadine Levinson is one of the PEP directors. She is a training and supervising analyst at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and treasurer of the American Psychoanalytic Foundation.
users have machines with sufficient processor speed, RAM, and hard disk space to consider the solution of PC emulation. Therefore, the PEP board stood firm on its commitment to Mac customers and shouldered the cost to produce a separate product using Folio View's 3.1 format.
The Mac CD will contain many of the same enhancements found on the PC version. The Mac beta version will also have the benefit of many of the corrections that have already been incorporated into the final PC disk, and will in these respects be superior to the PC beta. Corrected conditions include incorrectly tagged article headings (especially for book reviews and missing fields). After the Mac beta is released, Mac users will have the opportunity to identify difficulties and provide feedback. Beta users will receive a final version of the disk at no extra charge. Any Mac customer subsequently wishing to change from a Mac to a PC version of the disk will be able to exchange the Mac disk for a PC disk for a handling charge of $25.
The PEP board also authorized a further upgrade for the PC version that makes use of Folio Views 4.1. This upgrade provides easier and more user-friendly applications for installation and other improved features.
Dates for finalization of both the PC and Mac versions will be announced as soon as the beta phase is completed. Update issues are also still under consideration by the PEP board-updating will depend upon PEP's agreements with the various journals represented.
Look for another demonstration at the American Psychoanalytic Association meetings in December. Just as in Barcelona, the PEP CD-ROM team will be exhibiting the CD, using a large projector, to show off all the amazing things this disk can do. We will also have free trial samples that can be used for several weeks before the software “times out.” The disk is only getting better and better and will continue to improve as a result of the help of our Beta users.