Listen Up: OCLC and Recorded Books agree to new partnership
From the announcement:
OCLC and Recorded Books have signed an agreement under which Recorded Books eAudiobooks will continue to be available to libraries through NetLibrary, OCLC's platform for eContent.
Under the agreement, OCLC and Recorded Books will market Recorded Books eAudiobooks in North America and other regions around the world. OCLC and Recorded Books will continue to offer eAudiobook subscriptions and will work together to deliver new products and packages to meet the needs of individual libraries and library groups.
OCLC and Recorded Books settled a contract dispute in November 2007 and agreed at that time that OCLC would market Recorded Books eAudiobooks through August 2008 and service contracts through August 2009. The new agreement extends and expands the partnership.
"This new agreement will provide continuity to libraries that currently offer their patrons high-quality downloadable eAudiobooks from OCLC and Recorded Books," said Chip Nilges, OCLC Vice President, Business Development. "OCLC and Recorded Books are committed to providing libraries with outstanding new eContent services, plans and packages in a new user-friendly environment."
In October 2008, OCLC plans to release the NetLibrary Media Center, a downloadable application that patrons and libraries will use to manage and access their content. The new Media Center will offer personalization features and advanced search and browse capabilities.
"We are excited about the broad range of patron-friendly content which we will be able to offer libraries," said Matt Walker, Recorded Books Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "Our customers will benefit greatly from the partnership created by Recorded Books' commitment toquality audio books and OCLC's commitment to excellence in its digital products."
Together, OCLC and Recorded Books provide eAudiobooks to more than 500 libraries and 16 library groups.
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