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NetLibrary's MetaText Division to
Develop and Manage Digital Textbooks from Thomson Learning
BOULDER, COLO. - December 19 2000 - MetaText, NetLibrary's digital
textbook division, today announced plans to develop and manage
electronic versions of college textbooks for Thomson Learning, a
leading provider of products and services for teaching and learning.
MetaText will host the electronic texts in a Web-based learning platform
and make them available for sale to college students in the fall 2001
semester.
MetaText will convert dozens of market-leading textbooks from
Thomson Learning's South-Western and Wadsworth Group companies.
MetaText editions from South-Western, a leading publisher of business
education textbooks, will include "Contemporary Financial Management,"
"Business Law and the Regulatory Environment" and "Essentials of
Business Communication." MetaText editions from Wadsworth Group, a
leading publisher of humanities, social sciences, and behavioral sciences
texts, will include "Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass
Communications," "Criminal Justice in Action," "World History,"
Gufaston's "College Algebra," and "Statistics, The Exploration and
Analysis of Data."
MetaText's production staff will digitize the Thomson Learning
textbooks and make them available in the spring of 2001 for review
and adoption by instructors at colleges and universities throughout
the United States. Instructors may adopt MetaText editions directly
through their existing Thomson Learning sales representatives and begin
using the Thomson Learning MetaText editions in the fall semester of
2001.
"We are honored to have been chosen by Thomson Learning to create and
manage digital versions of their textbooks," said NetLibrary Vice
President of Publisher Relations Herb Hilderley. "Thomson Learning
texts in the subject areas of business, humanities, history, and the
sciences are highly sought after by professors, and we look forward
to offering them though our online textbook platform."
MetaText editions contain all essential components of a textbook,
including words, photographs, charts, and graphics. MetaText editions
organize text into conceptual units rather than arbitrary page breaks.
The MetaText platform features a variety of tools to benefit both
instructors and students. With MetaText, instructors can build online
course syllabi, manage class rosters, annotate text, and make class
announcements that are instantly viewable by students. Students using
MetaText can take advantage of a host of features to search, navigate,
annotate, highlight, and bookmark their online texts. Students have
their own unique home pages that serve as a portal to all of their
MetaText resources associated with the course, including the syllabus,
text, announcements, and additional reading materials. Communication
tools built into the MetaText platform facilitate instructor-student
and instructor-class feedback.
"MetaText digital textbooks are an important component in Thomson
Learning's vision to provide students and professors with the most
valuable learning tools available," said Robert S. Christie, president
and CEO of Thomson Learning. "While very few professors and students
have had the opportunity to use digital textbooks thus far, I am
confident that electronic learning will become an integral part of the
educational experience in the new millennium."
Thomson Learning (www.thomsonlearning.com) is among the world's leading
providers of lifelong learning information. Thomson Learning serves
the needs of individuals, learning institutions and corporations with
products and services for both traditional and distributed learning.
These products and services are sold throughout the world, through
direct channels and via a worldwide network of distributors.
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with multiple offices
worldwide, Thomson Learning is a division of The Thomson Corporation,
one of the world's leading information businesses. With an emphasis on
electronic information and solutions, and 1999 revenues of more than
$5.8 billion, Thomson's common shares are listed on the Toronto and
London Stock Exchanges. For more information, visit
www.thomson.com.
MetaText was founded in 1998 to help publishers, instructors,
and students harness the power of the information age. MetaText
creates Web-based digital textbooks that provide instructors
and students with a full range of interactive learning tools.
In March 2000, MetaText was acquired by NetLibrary (http://www.NetLibrary.com),
the leading provider of eBooks and Internet-based content management
services. For more information, go to www.MetaText.com.
Contact:
NetLibrary
Brian Bell
(303) 381-8703
bbell@NetLibrary.com
Thomson Learning
Kristen McCarthy
(651) 687-7758
kristen.mccarthy@thomsonlearning.com
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