Research Triangle Park, NC June 17, 2002 – Baker & Taylor, the leading supplier of books, videos, music and services to public, school and academic libraries, has entered into a agreement with matterCast, Inc., a provider of eContent distribution products, solutions and services, for the continued development and evolution of ED™, Baker & Taylor’s eBook delivery and management solution.

With this agreement, matterCast, Inc. will continue to apply its industry leading experience in architecting, designing and developing eContent distribution solutions towards the development of Baker & Taylor’s ED™ System. matterCast will develop a rich set of tools and solutions that provide cost benefits to Baker & Taylor, its publishers, and participating libraries for the deployment and management of their eBook collections. In addition, matterCast will continue to develop and evolve the ED™ System to deliver a compelling online library experience.

“It was important for us to bring this technology in-house. matterCast's expertise in providing tools and solutions for managing eContent was key to making this happen”, said Pamela Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Baker & Taylor.

“With this agreement, we combine Baker & Taylor’s market vision for a large scale eBook distribution system, with matterCast’s experience and expertise in automating the eContent supply chain, to build a full featured, web-based system”, said Ranjiv Sharma, President, matterCast, Inc. “I am sure that libraries and their patrons will find ED™ to be extremely engaging and easy to use.”

About ED™

ED™ provides all of the necessary tools to manage a growing eBook collection. Sophisticated full-text search options, customizable library and patron level features, ‘one book, one reader’ security, integration with the ILS and OPAC, support for both online and offline checkout, and powerful reporting make ED™ a robust management tool. Baker & Taylor handles all of the technology and hosts the library’s eBooks from its servers, providing the stability and security of an established leader in the library market. ED™ supports a growing number of eBook collections, with an emphasis on new materials from leading academic and trade publishers in key subject areas.

About Baker & Taylor

In business over 170 years, Baker & Taylor, Inc., is a global information and entertainment services company that offers books, videos, music and services to traditional and Internet retailers, libraries and educational institutions. Baker & Taylor is based in Charlotte, NC. For more information visit http://www.btol.com.

About matterCast

matterCast, Inc. is a provider of products, services and solutions for the distribution and management of digital content. matterCast’s services include consulting, planning, design and development to help customers identify and achieve their strategic digital distribution objectives including content handling and management, metadata management, digital rights management, content syndication and channel management. For more information visit http://www.mattercast.com.

Contact Information

Ranjiv Sharma
matterCast, Inc. 
(614) 361-2475 
ranjiv@mattercast.com

Pamela Smith
Baker & Taylor/Informata
(704) 329-8987
smithp@btol.com