netLibrary, a service providing library patrons 24-hour online access to reference, scholarly and professional electronic books from more than 40 publishers and university presses, began operation last month at www.netLibrary.com.
Tim Schiewe, NetLibrary's CEO and president, said the firm's mission is to "integrate the convenience and capabilities of the Web with the depth of content patrons find at their local library." He also emphasized that "we offer publishers true security of copyright protection and tracking of usage." Like any wholesaler, NetLibrary buys copies of a text from publishers -- it is currently working with more than 40 technical publishers -- at a wholesale price and resells the copies to libraries. In between, the company translates the text to an electronic format that can be viewed on any standard PC with an Internet browser (or most standard eBook readers, including the NuvoMedia Rocket eBook or Softbook Press Softbook) and adds advanced search capabilities, as well as the ability to highlight, bookmark and annotate the information.
Copyright security is tight. Although users can print out sections, the software will flash a copyright warning and automatically prevent excessive copying. Despite the expectation of unlimited access to online texts, NetLibrary only allows one user at a time to look at a particular text, much like a printed book. Although intended to protect copyright, the feature is almost certain to annoy users who have come to expect that digital books can provide access to an unlimited number of requests. Schiewe asserted that NetLibrary will provide multi-copy discounts and admitted that the feature might need to be reviewed.
Charter customers of NetLibrary include several of the country's top library consortia, including the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL), OhioLINK and Pennsylvania-based PALINET.
NetLibrary editions include text and still photos; audio, video and other multimedia capabilities are due in the second quarter of this year.
