PW: NetLibrary Inks Deal With Follett

NetLibrary, which grants site licenses to libraries and makes titles available to students on a moment's notice, has signed several new partners.

First, the company has announced a deal with reps from the Follett Library Resources Group. According to the arrangement, the group will sell netLibrary titles to the K€“12 school library market. The relationship will go in the other direction as well -- Follett reps will help netLibrary decide which titles to make a part of its list.

The house has also agreed to license content from Oxford University Press, moving closer to its aim of having 10,000 titles available by the turn of the millennium. More than 100 publishers are now in content partnerships with netLibrary.

In a move that underscores the importance of traditional publishing in its plan, the company has named Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Newcomb to its board of directors.

And in an unrelated e-publishing development, O'Reilly & Associates, which has already signed on with such e-book providers as Books24x7.com, will sell all formats of every title it publishes from its site beginning this year.