*MIT Press Teams with Tizra to Build an Online Computer
Science
Library*
Tizra's Agile PDF software to be used in press's first
effort to
broaden focus of online offerings beyond traditional
scholarly
and professional audiences.
April 30, 2008 (Cambridge, MA) - MIT Press has signed an
agreement with Tizra, Inc., to use the company's recently
launched Agile PDF software platform to create a website
that
will enable users to find, buy and view online versions of
books
published by the press. The site, which will carry MIT
Press
branding, is scheduled to go live next month with books from
the
press's world-renowned Computer Science and related
collections.
MIT Press's print works have long been noteworthy for
reaching a
broad audience beyond scholarly and professional readers,
but
prior to the initiative with Tizra, its online audience has
been
more specialized. Because the new service will be available
to
individual as well as university and institutional
customers, it
represents a significant step toward broader online access
to MIT
Press content. The service also represents the first time
the
press has sold online versions of its computer and
information
science books, which naturally appeal to online
researchers.
"We are very happy to be working with Tizra," says
MIT Press
Director Ellen W. Faran. "Our books reach a wide
audience of
professionals, students, and general readers, and the Tizra
platform enables us to offer them a greater choice of
digital
formats. Most importantly, it will allow us to experiment
with a
variety of electronic offerings to find out what will best
meet
the needs of our readers."
For Tizra, the signing caps a series of deals that had
already
exceeded sales goals since the launch of Agile PDF in
February.
"Signing with MIT Press so soon after launch represents
the
strongest validation of our product and business model we
could
have hoped for," says David Durand, CEO of Rhode-Island
based
Tizra. "Not only are they one of the largest and mos t
prestigious university presses in the country, but they have
a
long track record of technological innovation, which we are
proud
to be associated with."
Part of the reason MIT chose Tizra's new platform for the
initiative was the flexibility and direct control Agile PDF
provides over site branding and product definition, without
the
investment and risks associated with custom software
development.
"Tizra offered us a very attractive way to build on our
own
brand, and to create new online products that play to the
particular strengths of our publishing program," said
Gita
Manaktala, Marketing Director at the press. "Like
other
publishers, we are still learning the best ways to
distribute our
books online, so it's imperative that we work with
technology
that will let us respond and adapt quickly."
For many MIT Press authors, editors and readers, however,
the
advantages of online access are already beyond doubt.
"Authors
have been asking about online packaging - sometimes even
before
they sign with us," says Ada Brunstein, the press's
Computer
Science editor. "They know it's important to readers,
and many
also believe seeing the content online will actually
increase
interest in purchasing the printed book."
*About The MIT Press*
The MIT Press, one of the largest American university
presses,
publishes scholarly books and journals in the humanities,
social
sciences, and sciences. With a long-standing commitment to
distinctive design and the creative use of new technologies,
The
MIT Press publishes innovative research that pushes the
boundaries of knowledge as well as comprehensive works that
contribute to a foundational understanding of their fields.
More
information can be found at http://mitpress.mit.edu.
About Tizra
Tizra's mission is to provide content owners large and small
with
unprecedented control over the marketing, sales and delivery
of
their online content. Tizra's first product, Agile PDF, is
a
hosted service that enables non-technical staff to create
new
online products from existing content and sell them through
publisher branded web sites with highly flexible business
terms.
The company is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island,
and
funded in part by Rhode Island's Slater Technology Fund.
More at
http://tizra.com
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