~As eBooks become mainstream, NetLibrary users to benefit from
expanded eContent integration~

DUBLIN, Ohio/Ipswich MA, March 17, 2010 — OCLC and EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) have signed an agreement whereby EBSCO will purchase the assets of the OCLC NetLibrary Division and the rights to license a select number of vendor-owned databases currently available through the OCLC FirstSearch service. The purchase includes the NetLibrary eBook and eAudiobook platform as well as operations and infrastructure in Boulder, Colorado.

NetLibrary eBook content and eAudiobook subscriptions will continue to be available on the NetLibrary platform. EBSCO plans to provide access to the NetLibrary eBook content on the EBSCOhost® platform, one of the most used eContent platforms, creating a comprehensive integrated eBook and database service. NetLibrary eBooks will also continue to be discoverable through WorldCat.org.

“As eBooks become a mainstream part of libraries’ electronic collections, the time is right to provide new opportunities for libraries to integrate the acquisition and delivery of their eBooks, databases and eJournals,” said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. “This agreement with EBSCO will provide eBook users worldwide with increased avenues to discover their library’s growing eBook collection.”

“Our customers have been encouraging us to enter the eBook business as their users want to search eBooks on the same platform they are using to search leading full-text databases such as Academic Search™ and Business Source®,” said Tim Collins, president of EBSCO Publishing, the producers of EBSCOhost. “While we will begin work immediately to integrate NetLibrary eBooks into the EBSCOhost platform, we will also continue to maintain and enhance the NetLibrary platform to ensure a quality user experience while EBSCOhost functionality is being expanded.”

Mr. Collins continued, “We are also pleased to work with OCLC to transition a portion of their FirstSearch business to EBSCOhost. Given our history and experience providing access to leading secondary databases on EBSCOhost, we are well-positioned to provide FirstSearch subscribers a smooth transition to EBSCOhost.”

OCLC purchased the assets of NetLibrary in 2002 from bankruptcy in order to protect libraries’ investments in eBook content purchases, and to explore the potential of eBooks for libraries during the early days of eContent and the Web. OCLC members and publisher partners pioneered new eBook platforms, new purchase and licensing models and built a global shared eBook service for tens of thousands of libraries worldwide. OCLC has partnered with EBSCO to ensure even greater access to the important eBook resources of libraries.

OCLC’s commitment to protecting libraries’ investment in NetLibrary eBooks continues. All NetLibrary eBooks purchased by libraries will be placed in a dark archive—the OCLC eBook Archive—at least through March 2013. Just as OCLC protected member libraries’ investments with the acquisition of NetLibrary in 2002, the agreement with EBSCO ensures that all NetLibrary eBooks purchased by libraries continue to be secure.

EBSCO will provide OCLC MARC records for applicable eBooks to libraries free of charge and will ensure continued visibility of these important collections in WorldCat.org. EBSCO plans to maintain the popular eBook content purchase model and will explore eBook subscription options. Thousands of libraries also subscribe to Recorded Books eAudiobooks on the NetLibrary platform. This service will continue as EBSCO and Recorded Books will partner to provide access and new eAudiobook content on the NetLibrary platform.

EBSCO has also purchased the rights to license certain vendor-owned databases that are currently available via FirstSearch. Existing FirstSearch subscribers will continue to receive access to these databases on the FirstSearch service through the end of their current subscriptions. In order that customers experience an ideal transition to EBSCOhost following the current subscription period, pending approval of database owners, EBSCOhost access to these databases will be activated to run in parallel with FirstSearch access for the remainder of the current subscription.

OCLC will continue to deliver important library content via the FirstSearch platform. The WorldCat database, the WorldCat base package of databases and databases of primarily library owned content will continue to be offered through both FirstSearch and WorldCat.org. In 2008, OCLC expanded the visibility of FirstSearch databases by providing coverage of all FirstSearch content on both the FirstSearch platform and WorldCat.org.

OCLC and EBSCO have put in place processes to ensure continuity of service and support. An FAQ for customer and member support, ordering, billing and service transition is available at http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/questions/ and http://support.epnet.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?id=4789.

“Proceeds from the sale of the NetLibrary Division will be re-invested in the cooperative, both in financing current operations to keep our shared costs down for members and in resourcing important new product development,” said Mr. Jordan. “I am pleased to say that OCLC will therefore be able to hold service prices flat on all OCLC services in the United States for a second consecutive year, through June 30, 2011.”

Moving forward, OCLC will concentrate new development resources on enhancing and expanding WorldCat services and developing new services to streamline and lower costs of library management workflows. OCLC will continue to increase investment levels in support of valued library cataloging and resource sharing services. OCLC will also continue to build partnerships with publishers, library content developers and other content aggregators to provide maximum discoverability of a library’s complete collection through WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local.

“We are focusing our resources and investments on WorldCat services and on building a range of new Web-scale services for libraries,” said Mr. Jordan. “We are transitioning out of the role as reseller of vendor content. We will leverage cloud computing technologies to build cooperative services with our members and partners.”

“OCLC members have a strong track record of investing in research and development which yields new methods and new technologies for the broad library community,” Mr. Jordan said. “This began with the creation of WorldCat nearly 40 years ago and continued with pioneering work on eBooks in this past decade. There are many exciting new opportunities ahead. We see significant value in the new capabilities made possible by the combination of the shared resource that is WorldCat, cloud computing and cooperation. We will focus the cooperative’s energy and strategies on continuing our mission to increase access to the world’s information through cooperation and innovation.”

About EBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing is the world’s premier database aggregator, offering a suite of nearly 300 full-text and secondary research databases. Through a library of tens of thousands of full-text journals, magazines, books, monographs, reports and various other publication types from renowned publishers, EBSCO serves the content needs of all researchers (Academic, Medical, K-12, Public Library, Corporate, Government, etc.). The company’s product lines include proprietary databases such as Academic Search™, Business Source®, CINAHL®, DynaMed™, Literary Reference Center™, MasterFILE™, NoveList®, SocINDEX™ and SPORTDiscus™ as well as dozens of leading licensed databases such as ATLA Religion Database™, EconLit, INSPEC®, MEDLINE®, MLA International Bibliography, The Philosopher’s Index™, PsycARTICLES® and PsycINFO®. Databases are powered by EBSCOhost®, the most-used for-fee electronic resource in libraries around the world. For more information, visit the EBSCO Publishing Web site at: www.ebscohost.com, or contact: information@ebscohost.com. EBSCO Publishing is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 112 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Public Relations Manager
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebscohost.com

Bob Murphy
614-761-5136
murphyb@oclc.org

PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 16, 2010 (12:00 EST)

MEDIA CONTACT:
Rebekah Darksmith
Sales & Marketing Director
University of California Press, Journals + Digital Publishing
rebekah.darksmith@ucpress.edu
510-643-0952

Society of Architectural Historians Launches Bold Electronic Initiative in Partnership with University of California Press and JSTOR

Chicago, IL – March 16, 2010
The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is proud to announce the launch of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Online (JSAH Online). Developed in partnership with University of California Press and JSTOR, and using software from Atypon Systems, JSAH Online offers access to JSAH from the first volume published in 1941 through the present. The current issues provide leading research articles and reviews about the built environment accompanied by extensive multimedia content including images, videos, and GIS-driven visualizations.

JSAH Online is the first online journal devoted to the arts and humanities that incorporates cutting-edge multimedia features and heralds the launch of the next generation of scholarly communication. Such features in the inaugural issue include recreated music from an ancient Roman funeral, a zoomable image of a 37-foot-long Panorama of Constantinople from 1559, and a 3D model of the Roman Forum and environs overlaid on a Google Earth map.

“JSAH Online is an incredibly significant communications initiative – not only for SAH but broadly for scholarly publishing in the arts and humanities,” says Pauline Saliga, SAH Executive Director. “The features and functionality in JSAH Online allow scholars and the public more immediate and deeper understanding of leading-edge work being produced in architectural history.”

Rebecca Simon, Associate Director, University of California Press and Director of the
Journals + Digital Publishing Division, echoes this sentiment: "This launch realizes a bold and exciting vision for integrating multimedia features to enhance the study and understanding of the built environment. We are honored to partner with the Society in this endeavor and excited

about the opportunities the new digital environment creates not only for JSAH but for other disciplines as well."

JSAH Online is the culmination of several years of collaborative work among its partners. Funded by an initial planning grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and followed by an additional Mellon foundation grant, JSAH Online was conceived from the outset to take full advantage of the latest developments in online publishing. Professor Hilary Ballon of New York University, who conceived of and spearheaded the project as Editor of JSAH, collaborated with scholars at SAH and computer programmers at ARTstor, the New York-based online digital library, to develop an initial prototype for JSAH Online. “We knew that our vision had incredible potential for the wider scholarly community,” said Professor Ballon. “We also knew that to fully realize that potential, we needed to align ourselves with partners best positioned to help bring JSAH Online into being.”

JSAH Online’s inaugural issue, which was released on March 1, 2010, was developed by current JSAH Editor David Brownlee, Professor of the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania.
Articles in the first issue were subjected to the rigorous peer review process, and in addition were particularly groomed to utilize the innovative multimedia platform. “The integration of multimedia elements in these pieces dramatically increases the depth and breadth of the communication between authors and readers,” says Professor Brownlee. “Victor Hugo judged that the publication revolution of the Renaissance (moveable type printing) had annihilated the art of Gothic architecture. Happily, we can report that the digital publication revolution of our time is marvelously supportive of the study, appreciation, and creation of the built environment.”

SAH selected University of California Press as its partner in publishing JSAH in early 2009. That decision was followed quickly by announcement of a new effort called the Current Scholarship Program, initiated by University of California Press and JSTOR. JSAH Online is the first journal to be launched online as part of the Current Scholarship Program.

“The Current Scholarship Program has come to life with JSAH Online,” commented Michael Spinella, JSTOR Managing Director. “From the beginning, we have shared a vision with University of California Press and SAH for this effort to be a catalyst to help many publishers create new opportunities for their authors to publish media-rich scholarly works and for their readers to engage their arguments in novel and compelling ways. We are on our way.”

JSAH Online will be available exclusively to SAH members during 2010. Beginning in 2011, all JSAH content, features, and functionality will be incorporated into a new JSTOR platform where it will be available to SAH members as well as to non-member faculty, researchers, and students working at subscribing institutions around the world.

For more information about JSAH Online and to view a freely available multimedia article, see http://jsah.ucpress.jstor.org/. Media interested in full site access should request access through the SAH office at membership@sah.org. Please include your name, publication name, mailing address, telephone and email address. Your user name and password will be emailed to you.

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Society of Architectural Historians
The Society of Architectural Historians is the leading international learned society that promotes the study, interpretation and preservation of the built environment worldwide. With seventy years of service to the field of architectural history and its related disciplines, the Society’s membership of approximately 2,500 individuals includes professors of architectural and art history, architects and other design professionals, preservationists, museum curators, students, and others united in their passionate interest in architectural history. Institutional members include other learned societies, university libraries, art and historical museums, and preservation organizations around the world.
www.sah.org

University of California Press
Founded in 1893, University of California Press is one of the largest and most distinguished of American university presses, publishing books and journals in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The Press publishes nearly 200 new books and 40 journals each year, representing a broad spectrum of acclaimed works from innovative first works by young academics to in-depth articles presenting the results of the research and creative thinking of many of the world's foremost scholars. A major publisher of scholarly journals, the Journals + Digital Publishing Division has extensive experience providing traditional and digital publishing services for more than 20 client scholarly societies and associations.
www.ucpressjournals.com
www.ucpress.edu

JSTOR
JSTOR is a preservation archive and research platform for the academic community. Through JSTOR, faculty, researchers, and students are able to discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive of over 1,000 academic journals, as well as conference proceedings, monographs, and other scholarly content. More than 6,000 libraries and cultural heritage institutions and hundreds of the world's leading publishers of scholarly literature participate in and support JSTOR. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization helping the academic community use digital technologies to advance scholarship and teaching in sustainable ways. ITHAKA also includes two additional services – Ithaka S+R and Portico.
www.jstor.org
www.ithaka.org