The list of titles offered to public libraries in the program comes from a careful selection process by netLibrary s staff, designed to target titles with the broadest popular appeal. Candidates for participation can get a list from netLibrary. Subject areas featured in the introductory collection include general reference, careers, business, investing, computers, health, travel, etc. Besides the 1,500 commercially published titles, participating libraries will have access to some 2,500 public domain e-books, with over 600 more in the pipeline. The public domain sources feature classics in literature and history.
All netLibrary users can access the public domain collection.
We are very excited about this program because it will introduce highly functional and searchable e-books to a much broader audience, said Schiewe. When public library patrons begin to experience e-books some of them for the first time I believe they will be hooked on this new way of acquiring and using information. Brian Bell, spokesperson for netLibrary, reports that the company has had very good response to this program already. In fact, non-U.S. libraries have approached netLibrary sales representatives, as have librarians from libraries not among the top 100 U.S. metropolitan libraries, and asked for an expansion of the program. There are tens of thousands of library patrons accessing the service, plus 50,000 free subscribers and 1,000 paying subscribers.