HarperCollins College Publishers develops computer software to accompany college textbooks. Founded in the winter of 1990, HarperCollins College Publishers consists of titles formerly published by Harper & Row and Scott, Foresman/ Little, Brown College Publishers. This single identity includes the Software Services Group, which is now a seven-member operation. This group formed to combine Scott, Foresman/Little, Brown’s idea of developing generic software packages with Harper & Row’s expertise in handling software production.
Product Development
Unlike many other publishing companies, says Software Services Group Manager Bob Johnson, HarperCollins identifies the need for “generic” software. This is defined as programs that apply across disciplines or across courses within disciplines or across texts within a course.
The company spreads its costs over many books by regularly maintaining, updating, and enhancing the tutorial programs and test generators it creates. Some of the packages developed by the group include Macrosim and Macro-Study/Micro-Study Tutorials by Byrns and Stone, Testmaster, Math Test Generator, Interactive Math Tutorials, and SuperShell Tutorials.
HarperCollins also does book- and course-specific software, which it licenses or hires people to develop. Outside developers, such as authors of textbooks, professors, and their colleagues write software.
Sometimes the company licenses software shells and hires people to create company-specific software to fill those shells.
For instance, Ready! Course by Interactive Knowledge, originally developed for Central Piedmont College in North Carolina, now accompanies HarperCollins books.
The company also works with software development houses and, if needed, makes co-marketing deals to arrange to use existing software. Some examples are macGIS by Hulse/Larsen, Balance of the Planet from Chris Crawford Games Inc., Body Language from Hal Peters, and The Anatomist from Folkstone.
Marketing and Distribution
Most of the tutorial programs and test generators HarperCollins produces are ancillaries to texts, which are given free to adopters. Products are stocked in a warehouse and can be ordered by representatives for adopters. Other packages are sold at very modest prices.
A word processing program, The 53rd Street Writer, based on QuickStart and created by The Daedalus Group, sells commercially for $9.95 while adopters can buy it for $4.95. Although not yet at the profit point, HarperCollins wants to set prices at an affordable level for students and get the products out on the market.
Customer Support
HarperCollins provides full support on an 800 line, recently expanded to Canada for professors or other customers who need technical assistance. The number is also given to any customer who receives a package created by HarperCollins from a third party.
Future Plans
HarperCollins is moving seriously into electronic and multimedia publishing by developing a new position. The new director of new media, Vicky Rosenborg, was hired by HarperCollins College Publishers to be strictly responsible for producing or co-developing multimedia products to support the instructor- and student-oriented books HarperCollins publishes.
Interested professors or developers are welcome to contact the company. The support number is (800) 677-6337.
For more information, contact HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd St., New York, NY 10022-5299. Bob Johnson can be reached at (212) 207-7733; Vicky Rosenborg at (212) 207-7948.
