Business News
Zinio Extends Digital Reading Opportunities
Wednesday 02. April 2008 - More than 100 Classic Book Titles Available for Free Online from Zinio's Digital Library
Zinio, the leading global online publishing, distribution and retail-services company, unveils its new digital library with more than 100 classic titles available online at no cost. This is the first effort in a series to drive an increase in digital reading.
“We wanted to inspire ‘screenagers’ — those accustomed to obtaining and consuming all their content digitally — to read these literary staples,” said Rich Maggiotto, CEO of Zinio. “Not only are we offering these literary works online for free, we wanted to showcase the most impressive on-screen reading experience while maintaining the integrity and feel of the old classics — complete with digitized leather covers. Now it’s easy to enjoy some of the greatest stories in the literary canon on your screen.”
The books, considered the top literary classics, are available digitally and include tiles such as:
— Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — Jane Eyre
— Anna Karenina — Moby Dick
— A Tale of Two Cities — Robinson Crusoe
— Beowulf — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
— Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — The Three Musketeers
“Today’s youth are used to everything being digital,” said Karel, host of “The Karel Show” on KGO-AM 810 San Francisco. “The concept of picking up a classic book and reading it cover to cover is foreign to many people, unless it’s for school. Zinio, the greenest way to read publications and one of the most earth-friendly ways to get printed material, is now making these books more accessible to young and old alike online. Now, with one click, everyone can read literature that has been part of our culture for decades in a way that is futuristic and cutting edge. The past meets the future on Zinio.”
The books have their own section in Zinio’s online Digital Library, where consumers can view the publications in a high-fidelity format. Zinio is also partnering with a number of companies to extend the reach of these books. Users can view available titles on a scrollable bookshelf and simply click on the spine of a book to open it in their browser. Readers can search for content within the books, share titles with friends or save books to read offline later.
“In this digital age, the younger generation is extremely reliant on the Internet for content and news. We view this offering as a core element of our corporate responsibility to the youth. High-fidelity reading experiences, coupled with high-quality content will enable us to support the intellectual development driven across the Internet,” said Jeanniey Mullen, Zinio’s CMO.