E-research and educational publisher Gale, part of Cengage Learning, US, has entered into a long-term agreement with YBP Library Services, Inc., a provider of materials to academic libraries. The deal is to expand the distribution of Gale's Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) e-book collection, Literature Criticism Online; and the CODiE-finalist Gale Directory Library.
YBP will distribute GVRL into the academic library market, where it claims to have a leadership position. GVRL is projected to offer nearly 3,000 reference sources from some 50 authoritative publishers on a stable, easy-to-use platform. Libraries have the flexibility to buy one e-book or multiple e-books; search across a single e-book or an entire e-book collection. The collection grows weekly and covers a wide variety of topics and subjects - ranging from current events to classics and from arts and humanities to small business management. Literature Criticism Online brings together 10 acclaimed literary series representing a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres. Gale Directory Library is an online collection of cross-searchable directories of companies, publishers and associations.
A Baker & Taylor company, YBP Library Services provides books and supporting collection management and technical services to academic, research and special libraries in North America and around the world. In January 2009, it had announced full cataloging support for Oxford Scholarship Online's e-book collections.
