eBooks Corporation Moves a Step Closer to Achieving Its
Goal of 'Any Book, Anywhere'
LOS ANGELES, May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- At Book Expo America today, eBooks
Corporation announced that it is collaborating with leading international
university and research libraries to develop an eBook lending platform. eBook
Library or "EBL" is scheduled for release in select university and research
libraries in September 2003 and will be officially launched in January 2004.
EBL will feature Non-linear Lending(TM), a multiple-concurrent lending
model which allows a single title to be checked out simultaneously by multiple
patrons. Other features of EBL include digital interlibrary lending, unique
eBook reserve functionality and lending by the chapter. eBook titles can be
browsed online and then downloaded to a desktop, laptop, or hand-held device
for use offline. The system will allow patrons to perform full text searches
across their library's entire eBook collection.
The impetus to develop EBL was client driven. Unable to find an existing
eBook library solution that was suitable for his specialized research
environment, Jens Vigen, Scientific Information Officer at the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva approached eBooks
Corporation. CERN's Education and Technology Transfer Division is now working
closely with eBooks Corporation to shape an eBook lending product that meets
the special needs of research and academic libraries.
Vigen says, "CERN gave the world the Word Wide Web in the early 1990's.
It is appropriate that we should continue to work on projects that promote
innovation in the transfer of information and technology." He explains, "CERN
Library has been involved in electronic publishing since the Web began. With
the development of electronic journals we realized too late that we should
have put in a foot earlier, as it has taken great effort to convince
publishers to redesign their products after they had been released. With this
in mind, we are now actively doing something for the electronic book so that
the industry will come up with products that correspond to the needs of
scientific libraries."
eBooks Corporation has specialized in the production and distribution of
digital books since 1997, and launched one of the world's first eBook stores
(ebooks.com) in 2000.
Stephen Cole, Founder and Managing Director of eBooks Corporation says,
"We have refined the distribution of eBooks in our retail channel and are now
expanding our distribution to academic libraries. We come to the library
arena with a deep understanding of eBook technology and its uses. Building on
our experience we're creating a lending platform which will bring tremendous
flexibility to library patrons and deliver real efficiencies and cost savings
to academic and research libraries.
"We're very conscious of the many commercial and ideological sensitivities
surrounding digital libraries, and are determined that EBL will live up to the
expectations of patrons, libraries, publishers and authors."
EBL will offer an extensive academic catalogue with a particular focus on
scientific, technical and medical titles.
About eBooks Corporation
eBooks Corporation is a global provider of digital books. It has
distribution agreements with publishers in the US, UK and Australia. The
company has long-standing, close working relationships with Adobe, Microsoft,
Palm and other stakeholders in the eBook industry. eBooks Corporation
develops, hosts, and securely distributes eBooks through its retail site
(ebooks.com). eBooks Corporation will soon be expanding distribution to
wholesale (ebookengine.com) and library (ebl.ebooks.com) channels.
About CERN
CERN (cern.ch) is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the
world's largest particle physics center. Founded in 1954, the laboratory was
one of Europe's first joint ventures and includes now 20 Member States.
Physicists come to CERN to explore what matter is made of and the forces that
hold it together. Founded in 1954, the laboratory was one of Europe's first
joint ventures and includes now 20 Member States.
SOURCE eBooks Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.ebooks.com
http://www.ebookengine.com http://www.ebl.ebooks.com
http://www.cern.ch
CONTACT:
Kari Paulson, Director Library Services of
eBooks Corporation, (Aus): +61-8-9386-3112, or (US):
+1-617-249-0460, or Fax, +61-8-9386-1844, kari.paulson@ebooks.com
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