World Book and America Online Announce Agreement

Posted on April 25, 2001

World Book, Inc., a publisher of educational and reference materials, and America Online, an interactive services company, announced a new content agreement that will bring the World Book Encyclopedia to AOL and CompuServe members. Under the agreement, World Book will become the primary general reference resource for the Research & Learn Channels of AOL and CompuServe.

Every entry from the 22-volume print set of The World Book Encyclopedia, plus an additional 3,200 articles and media features, will be available at no additional cost to AOL and CompuServe's members. Competitor Britannica, Inc. made the entire text of the Encyclopaedia Britannica available free of charge online in October, 1999. While the online encyclopedia is still free, the company recently began considering a switch back to a fee-based format or a combination of free and fee-based content offerings.

``The agreement between our two companies represents an excellent opportunity to introduce a wider audience to World Book's exemplary resources while supporting America Online's emphasis on family-friendly content and services that have made it such a success,'' says Michael Ross, Executive Vice-President and Publisher of World Book. ``With this new alliance, we can enhance the value of the World Book brand, while reinforcing AOL and CompuServe members' expectation of excellence.''

``World Book has shown itself to be an innovator in educational and research content, and has continued to branch out in different directions by embracing technology,'' said Dr. Terry Crane, America Online's Vice President for Educational Products. ``This is an enormous benefit for our members, bringing them exceptional World Book content and services that can help improve learning with the click of a mouse.''