Ebooks Corporation Launches Library Platform

Posted on June 25, 2004

Ebooks Corporation announced the launch of EBL at the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference. EBL is a new ebook-lending platform designed to meet the demands of academic and research libraries. EBL will launch in July, 2004.

EBL provides an interface for flexible purchase and lending of a growing collection of digital book titles that is designed to suit the specific needs of academic and research librarians. The new service allows publishers to provide their content through a choice of flexible lending models, including multiple concurrent use, unlimited access and short-term circulation. Additionally, individual ebook chapters can be set aside for reserve lending or inclusion within course packs.

Kari Paulson, General Manager of EBL, said, "We are confident that EBL will be a valuable resource for academic and research librarians, in large part because we have developed it in collaboration with such a committed and creative group of advising institutions. We are fortunate to have a brilliant technical team in Perth, who have packed EBL with functions that will delight library patrons and librarians."

The collection comprises content across all subject areas, with an initial focus on recent publications, principally in the areas of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM). Leading global academic publishers have signed on to EBL, including Taylor and Francis, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Kluwer and World Scientific Press. International advisors in the development of EBL have included: CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research (Switzerland); Yale University Library (USA); Curtin University of Technology (Australia); North Carolina State University (USA); R2 Consulting (USA); Dawson Books (UK), Blackwell's Book Services (USA) and the Consortium of Australian University Libraries (Australia).

Ebooks Corporation is a global provider of electronic books. It has distribution agreements with publishers in the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. Ebooks Corporation hosts and securely distributes ebooks through its retail site ebooks.com.