PW: Versaware, Taylor &Francis Sign E-Delivery Pact

Looking to establish itself as a total provider of the digital infrastructure needed for e-publishing, Versaware, a software developer specializing in e-publishing services, has entered into an agreement with Taylor & Francis, a U.K.-based international academic publisher, to digitally convert the 17,000 title backlist of T&F and its imprints.

Versaware will use its proprietary technologies to begin converting the T&F backlist into all e-book formats, including PDF, HTML, Microsoft Reader, Rocket eBook, Softbook and Glassbook, as well as its own Versabook multimedia format. Versaware will also set up a T&F "digital warehouse" that will provide fulfillment for all T&F e-book titles.

Anthony Selvey, CEO of Taylor & Francis, said, "Our audience needs academic materials in various formats. We knew Versawarewas the best company to enable us to offer our customers exactly what they need."

Harry Fox, cofounder and CEO of Versaware, said, "Our partnership is paving the way for individuals to choose how they wish to receive information. We estimate that sales from this initiative will be worth at least $10 million to our company."

Sol Rosenberg, cofounder of Versaware, told PW that the agreement provides "all the technical infrastructure for e-publishing"--including print-on-demand publishing. The deal covers titles from all of the T&F imprints (including its Routledge and Garland publishing subsidiaries in New York City) and he expects about 3,000 titles to be ready for digital distribution by the end of the year. Rosenberg emphasized that the deal involves "more than just reading books on handheld units." He noted, "E-publishing is leveraging all kinds of content--health, cookbooks, whatever--to find new channels. This agreement is a strategy to find new ways to slice up content and deliver it." He described Versaware as a B2B company: "We're like Donnelley, Quebecor and Ingram all rolled into one. There's not much technically that we can't do."

The deal comes on the heels of S&S's agreement (News, July 10) with Lightning Source, Ingram's recently organized e-publishing services provider, to digitize the S&S backlist. The T&F deal highlights efforts by such companies as Lightning Source, netLibrary and Versaware to position themselves as the digital equivalent of a printer/wholesaler, a single entity that can provide traditional print publishers with the complete technical infrastructure to create and distribute e-books and other digital content to retailers.