Press Releases
Proquest And Safari Sm Join Forces To Launch Online Information Retrieval Service To Libraries
Agreement Expands Access To High-Demand It Information From Quality Publishers
February 5th, 2002, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – ProQuest Company's (NYSE: PQE) Information and Learning unit and Safari sm Books Online sm, LLC announced an agreement today that will grant ProQuest exclusive distribution rights of Safari Tech Books Online to academic, public, and K-12 libraries and non-exclusive rights for government libraries. The Safari Tech Books Online library edition, currently under development by ProQuest and Safari, is scheduled for release later this month. The Web-based service allows library patrons to conduct online searches of more than 20 technical categories from Networking to Java to Microsoft's .Net.
Safari Books Online is a joint venture between two well-known publishers of information technology (IT) books: O'Reilly Media Inc. and The Pearson Technology Group. O'Reilly is a premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. The Pearson Technology Group is the world's largest provider of consumer and professional computer, information technology, engineering, and reference content. Imprints include Addison-Wesley Professional, Cisco Press, Peachpit Press, Prentice Hall PTR, New Riders, Que and Sams.
"IT books are in high demand, and the Safari service suits the needs of researchers and students who are seeking answers to specific questions and to those seeking in-depth information on a topic," said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president and general manager of the ProQuest division of ProQuest Information and Learning. "Users can search across multiple books simultaneously, allowing the collection of books to be searched as a database rather than as discrete books. Results are ranked by relevancy, helping users to zero in on exactly the information they need. This philosophy complements our own approach to information delivery.
"The quality and breadth of the Pearson and O'Reilly imprints are unrivaled in the IT area," continued Gauvin. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to distribute this content in a searchable format to libraries around the world."
Sean Devine, managing director of Safari Books Online, said, "In evaluating potential distribution partners in the academic/public library market, we selected ProQuest as our exclusive agent because of its strong ties with libraries, its reputation for producing and distributing high-quality information products, and its strong global presence."
The books cover a wide range of IT topics, including:
- .NET
- Cisco products
- Database
- Enterprise Computing
- .Networking
- Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, Unix, Macintosh)
- Programming and Software Engineering
- Internet (Web, Java, and XML)
Titles include:
- Adobe Illustrator 9.0 Classroom In A Book (Adobe Press)
- Animation on the Web (Peachpit Press)
- Applied XML Solutions (Sams Publishing)
- Core C++ A Software Engineering Approach (Prentice Hall PTR)
- Database Programming with JDBC and Java, Second Edition (O'Reilly)
- Extreme Programming Explained (Addison -Wesley)
- Inside Linux (New Riders Publishing)
- Learning Perl, 3rd Edition (O'Reilly)
- Oracle Built-in Packages (O'Reilly)
- Practical Firewalls (Que)
- Voice over IP Fundamentals (Cisco Press)
The Safari Tech Books Online library edition will include special features to accommodate library users. Safari will continue to sell subscriptions to Safari Tech Books Online to corporate libraries, IT departments, and individual users. Free trials of the library edition will be available in late January. Libraries may receive more information by contacting their account representative at 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3183 or 3452 (outside the U.S., call +44-1-223-215-512) or pqsales@il.proquest.com. Editors may call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3805 or email pr@il.proquest.com.
