Prepress

Ebook Library and Mallory International Partner to Bring Ebooks to Africa

Wednesday 06. August 2008 - Companies Collaborate to Overcome Challenges of Digital Delivery to the Region

EBL and Mallory International are delighted to announce a joint initiative to promote and develop the sale and access of ebooks into libraries in Africa. Innovative pricing and delivery models, appropriate to the region, are being developed jointly, to give institutions effective access to the latest content and ebook technology.

Access to electronic resources can be difficult in Africa where things most of us take for granted, such internet access and state-of-the-art computer hardware, are not consistently available. Mallory has been a leading supplier of print content to the African continent for nearly 25 years. While they are well aware of the obstacles to delivering content electronically, Mallory also believe that libraries in the region are ready to invest in making these technologies work, and that African institutions will benefit greatly from the more immediate and enhanced access that ebooks provide. Julian Hardinge, Chairman of Mallory International, said: “We are delighted to find a partner who is not only a leader in delivering e-books to libraries, but also has been prepared to work with us to meet the particular needs of customers in less developed countries.”

Kari Paulson, President of EBL said: “As a specialised bookseller with unique reach into African markets, Mallory International is an ideal collaborator and partner for EBL. Mallory’s expertise and awareness of the particular challenges of the market will be invaluable in helping us developing access and commercial models that will work for libraries in this region.