Complimentary Subscriptions to SpecLink^®

BSD offers SpecLink to all educational institutions free of charge. Over the years, over 40 universities, colleges, and technical schools have used SpecLink in various curricula. Some schools have a faculty champion and an ongoing course offering, but most depend on a particular faculty member who may or may not be teaching the same course the next year. What’s especially interesting is that some technical schools and community colleges have been our most consistent subscribers. This may reflect the diminished emphasis in architectural schools on practice issues — perhaps the technical schools are filling that void. In any case, any school that wishes to use SpecLink in a course only needs to ask for a subscription. The simplest method is for the dean or the instructor to send us a letter on the school letterhead to the effect that 1) SpecLink will be used in a certain course for a certain term or terms, and 2) use of SpecLink will be limited to faculty and student use for educational purposes only. Along with name, address, etc., that is the only information we require. Subscriptions must be renewed on an annual basis — if a CD is needed, a small shipping fee will be charged; there is no charge at all for downloading from the BSD website.

In addition to serving established curricula, BSD provides SpecLink to educational and nonprofit organizations for short term or one-time events. Recently we provided SpecLink for the Sheet Metal Workers International Association training center, to use in teaching about the new MasterFormat 2004 edition — the Master- Format “switch” provided a vivid demonstration of how the new numbering scheme relates to the old. We welcome inquiries from other trade and professional associations, CSI chapters, and continuing education providers. If you would like us to provide the instructors, we can do that too — our instructor fees can be found on our website, www.bsdsoftlink.com.