Follett selects microsoft reader format for efollett.com - news byte - Follett Higher Education Group - Brief Article

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, June, 2001 by Al Branch

Software giant Microsoft recently signed a contract with Follett Higher Education Group for Microsoft Reader to be the format used for electronic books--or e-books--sold at efollett.com's eBookstore. Specific details and financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The agreement comes at a time when the competition in the fledgling e-book market is heating up, and it marks a move by one of the leading college bookstore operators to choose a specific format on which to deliver e-books.

"This is the initial format we're using," Follett spokesperson Shelly Bush told MATRIX of the Microsoft deal. "We're considering using other formats, and we're talking to everyone."

Among the other e-book software companies Follett is considering are Adobe and Gemstar.

From efollett.com, a person will be able to download Microsoft Reader for free, which will enable them to purchase and download eBook titles. Currently, Follett is offering consumer, or "trade book" titles, but plans call for course materials to be available in e-book form in the future. Bush says there is no specific time frame for when course materials will be available.

"This was a positioning step because the market is still in its infancy," Bush says. "The market will grow because it's a natural next step for college course materials to be offered electronically."

For more information, visit www.efollett.com.