By accepting our use of cookies, you agree that we can place the cookies described below on your device.

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device.

You can find more information about cookies at:

• www.allaboutcookies.org
• www.youronlinechoices.eu
• www.google.co.uk/goodtoknow/data-on-the-web/cookies

Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and generally improve the user experience. They can also help to ensure that adverts you see online are more relevant to you and your interests.

The cookies used on our QAC websites have been categorized based on the categories found in the ICC UK Cookie guide. A list of all the cookies used on our QAC website by category is set out below. Our QAC website runs most efficiently with cookies enabled. The cookies used on our QAC website cannot harm your computer.
Category 1: Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies services you have asked for, like BSOL or e-shop and e-billing, cannot be provided.

• Websessionstart
• Cookie set to identify the start of web session by the user
• MSCSProfile
• commerce server Cookie to manage user profile
• SessionAuthenticationType
• checks if the user is authenticated via Athens or by Ecommerce site
• UserUseInstitutionalAccountDuringSession
• checks if user is using institutional account during session
• MyDownloadsSessionId
• created to manage Mydownloads feature
• NotificationProducts
• stores the product that user attempts to add/remove from notification
• refineSearchArea
• maintains the refine search option selected by user
• AddingProducts
• maintains products added for custom collection activation

Category 2: Performance Cookies

These cookies collect information about how our visitors use our website, for instance, which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies do not collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how our QAC website works.

The Category 2 Cookies that we use on our website are:

• _utmb, _utmc, _utma, _utmz
• Google Analytics cookies
• AddThisCookie
• Used by by AddThis sharebar
• WRUID
• used by clicktale to identify users
• op[client id][name of test]gum
• ensures that visitors will see the same version of a page which has variants being tested.
• op[client id][name of test]liid
• This cookie is used to measure user behaviour based on the test version of a page.

Category 3: Functionality Cookies

These cookies allow our QAC website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to the text size, fonts and other parts of the web pages that you can customise. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

The Category 3 Cookies that we use on our website are:

• Jquery.cookie
• manages User selection of navigation in left nav tree/accordion (maintaining selected tree sub menu item etc)
• LastSearchResults
• maintains last search results link
• BSIPollCookie
• stores poll options

Category 4: Targeting/advertising Cookies

These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers. Quite often targeting or advertising cookies will be linked to site functionality provided by the other organisation.

The Category 4 Cookies that we use on our website are:

• Affiliate
• redirect cookie lasting 30 days for tracking Affiliate information

Other types of cookie

These cookies are specialist in nature and are for specific use. QAC does not use any other types of cookie not falling within one of the categories above.
Disabling cookies

QAC websites are designed to function optimally with cookies enabled. However, if you wish to disable cookies, this can be controlled through your browser settings.

Please note:

If you do deactivate cookies it may mean some of the website features become disabled. Even with all cookies disabled, a tiny amount of information will continue to be retrieved from your web browser. This information is necessary for the basic functioning of our website.

For instructions on changing your cookie setting, select your browser:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Opera
• Safari