NetLibrary Announces Second Round Funding of $25 Million
Silicon Valley-Based Sprout Group Leads Latest Round of Funding for the
First Comprehensive Digital Library on the Internet
BOULDER, CO- May 24, 1999-- NetLibrary (www.NetLibrary.com), the world's
premiere provider of electronic books (eBooks) and information over the Internet,
today announced a second round of venture funding totaling $25 million. Led by
The Sprout Group, other major investors include Barnard & Company, Sequel
Venture Partners, Marquette Ventures, and the Anschutz Family Investment
Company.
NetLibrary provides libraries and their patrons anytime, anywhere access to a
comprehensive collection of reference, scholarly, and professional electronic
books (eBooks) and information that can be viewed, searched, and checked out
via the Internet. All patrons need is a personal computer with an Internet
browser (version 3.x).
"This is a vote of confidence in our vision and ability to build the Internet's first
truly digital library," said Tim Schiewe, CEO of NetLibrary. "The infusion of capital
will enable us to expand our relationships with libraries, universities and
publishers, aggressively acquire additional content for our growing list of patrons,
and increase advertising and marketing efforts to establish awareness and
loyalty for the NetLibrary brand."
With nearly 10,000 volumes online, NetLibrary has forged relationships with more
than 50 publishers including The McGraw-Hill Companies, Houghton Mifflin and
ABC-CLIO. Nearly 1,000 libraries have already contracted with NetLibrary to
provide digital library services.
The Sprout Group, with offices in Menlo Park, California and New York City, is
one of the oldest and largest groups providing private equity capital to growing
companies. Sprout has helped finance more than 275 companies in the last 30
years, whose combined sales exceed $40 billion. Sprout has significant
experience in internet-related investments, backing such companies as Digital
Chef, Family Education Network, FogDog, NetBuy, Rhythms Netconnections,
Paradyne and GlobeSpan.
"NetLibrary is creating a paradigm shift in the publication, distribution and use of
eBooks," said Bob Finzi, of The Sprout Group. "NetLibrary is the first company to
offer publishers, libraries and users an eBook that extends the library experience
beyond the traditional to create a richer, more useful interaction for all parties."
By extending the 'bricks-and-mortar' library institution to the online community,
NetLibrary's platform offers a whole new world of information resources to library
patrons including twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week access to electronic
information and advanced search capabilities.
"NetLibrary's offering comes at a critical time: library budgets are shrinking and
distance learning is becoming increasingly more popular," added Finzi.
"NetLibrary's solution sits at the intersection of education and the Internet,
providing libraries and universities with a means of offering their patrons
unlimited access to information."
Since launching in March of 1999, NetLibrary has been heavily trafficked, with
more than 3.9 million page views in the first month. Since the site's launch, there
have been hundreds of thousands of user sessions. The average visitor to
NetLibrary spends approximately 27 minutes on the site.
NetLibrary is the world's leading provider of reference, scholarly, and professional
electronic books and information on the Internet. Based in Boulder, Colorado,
the company provides traditional libraries with new information and enhanced
services and provides publishers with new distribution and revenue channels.
Library consortia currently using NetLibrary's services include the Colorado
Alliance of Research Libraries, OhioLINK, PALINET, and The University of Texas
System. NetLibrary is also working with the world's leading publishers and
university presses. NetLibrary can be found at www.NetLibrary.com.
Contact:
NetLibrary
David Melançon
303/415-2548
david@netlibrary.com
|
