"We have about 8,000 total libraries currently using netLibrary products and services," says Brad Norris, netLibrary’s vice president of global sales. "Of that about 70 percent are academic in nature, with higher education in the range of two to three thousand."

Norris adds that the netLibrary business model is very similar to the way libraries use printed books, "but we sell copies of electronic books; then libraries customize their offerings based on what titles they elect to purchase." Purchasing eBooks comes with service fees, either annual or prepaid, which netLibrary says allows them to manage and continually upgrade its technology.

Today, netLibrary’s eBooks can be integrated with and accessible via OCLC’s FirstSearch, provided that you are an academic library that is a bona-fide netLibrary customer. Authenticated academic library patrons can also access eBooks directly through any netLibrary customer’s online public access catalogue (OPAC) system or via a link on any netLibrary customer’s Web site.

In the world of distance education, netLibrary can provide online learners with access to a full library of eBooks - currently about 50,000 titles in a wide range of subject areas, says OCLC Vice President of netLibrary Rich Rosey. These eBooks can be accessed anytime, anywhere with the same circulation model that traditional libraries offer: one user accessing books for a designated check-out time.

In addition to providing access to eBooks online, netLibrary offers a suite of services to libraries, including full-text searching capabilities, as well as usage report services that can reveal how eBooks are being accessed. According to the netLibrary Web site, the company handles all of the technology and hosts the eBooks from its servers. "The library determines the authentication strategy - patrons can find eBooks through eBook MARC (machine readable cataloging) records in the OPAC, or from the library Web site. As with print books, only one patron at a time may access each copy of an eBook. The library sets the checkout time for each eBook through a secure Library Resource Center. The Library Resource Center also allows libraries to see usage and collection development reports."

Rosey adds that netLibrary’s usage and collection development process allows the company to show publishers as well as libraries what eBooks are being read and ultimately use that information to help mold collection subject areas.

"Most of our books are research or reference academic titles that people want to go into and find information quickly and then copy and print small portions of text," says Norris. The netLibrary’s digital rights management system protects copyrights and limits the copying and printing of an eBook while permitting fair use. The system will automatically advise the user when they have exceeded the limitation. "Patrons can do very limited copying and printing," adds Rosey. "We limit and prevent rapid printing and copying of multiple pages at a time. Patrons can get access to information similar to what people can do with a printed book and a photocopying machine."

According to the company’s internal reports, netLibrary’s collection by top ten subjects accessed by academic library users are as follows: 21% economics and business; 19% computer science; 12% medicine, health and wellness; 11% literature; 9% technology and engineering; 7% sociology; 7% education; 5% American history; 5% religion; and 4% psychology. Their corporate library users, on the other hand, access about 50% computer science titles.

NetLibrary currently has about 60 employees, consisting of approximately 25 sales and marketing people, 25 operations technicians and 10 production personnel. Rosey says that although eBooks will never completely replace printed books and journals, "it is going to find its place inside the normal delivery process of a library." The company’s mission statement reveals a lofty goal: "To revolutionize the way individuals and organizations access published content."