Information resources and technologies provider ProQuest, US, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ebook Library (EBL), which will significantly expand its e-book delivery and aggregation capabilities with libraries worldwide.
The acquisition will further ProQuest's goal of enhancing the research experience, enabling users to seamlessly discover content across multiple formats including books, journals, dissertations, newspapers, and video. ProQuest acquired e-book pioneer ebrary in January 2011 and plans to combine the strongest features of ebrary and EBL into a single, comprehensive e-book platform once finalized.
Founded in 2004 by Ebooks Corporation, EBL pioneered a wide range of new services in the library market, including the patented Non-Linear Lending (NLL) model, demand-driven acquisitions, short-term loans, and chapter-level purchases for reserve circulation and coursepacks. EBL offers more than 300,000 e-books from more than 500 publishers to libraries around the world and counts some of the world's most prestigious academic and research institutions among its customers.
Kari Paulson, EBL's President, will join ProQuest to manage the combined e-book business unit and lead the effort to merge EBL and ebrary into one optimised platform. Kari will report to Kevin Sayar, Senior Vice President, ProQuest Workflow Solutions.
