OCLC PICA will provide NetLibrary eBooks to Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Bavaria's state library, under an agreement for an initial purchase of 1,000 titles. The purchase is part of a plan by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany's research funding organization, to improve access to electronic content throughout the country.
The eBooks will be available to academic libraries throughout Germany, including Berlin State Library, Goettingen State and University Library, Technical Information Library Hanover and the State and University Library of Dresden. The agreement covers English language titles in the subject areas of business, social sciences, engineering and arts.
In addition to accessing titles through Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, participating institutions will be able to augment the collection by purchasing unique NetLibrary content of their own.
"We conducted an exhaustive review of available eBook service providers and found that NetLibrary offered a broad range of titles covering many disciplines and an option for multiple, simultaneous access for users, which the DFG evaluation group approved," said Dr. Hildegard Schaeffler, Head of Serials and Electronic Media, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. "We are thrilled to be able to offer eBooks as an electronic resource in Germany."
"This is a first of its kind agreement that will provide students, faculty and researchers with 24/7 access to a rich collection of eBooks," said Rich Rosy, Vice President of Content Management, OCLC. "We are delighted to be among the first to introduce eBooks to German academic libraries and are already working with Bayerische Staatsbibliothek to add new titles to their collection."
About Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) is the central, self-governing research funding organization that promotes research at universities and other publicly financed research institutions in Germany. The DFG serves all branches of science and the humanities by funding research projects and facilitating cooperation among researchers.
About Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, located in Munich, Germany, is the second largest academic library in German-speaking countries with a collection of just under 9 million books, 85,000 manuscripts and more than 44,000 printed and electronic journals.
For more information, please contact OCLC PICA Communications by e-mail or by telephone at +31-(0)71-524 65 00.
